Reawakening

[Darth Abyss]

Katarr, The Drowned Archives

During their last meeting [member="Natalie LaForte"] had made an request to her old master. Darth Abyss answered it with an offer of his own, leaving her nothing more than a set of coordinates to follow. They would lead her in one of the truly dead corners of the galaxy, a world named Katarr that ages ago had been devoured by the depraved lord of hunger, Darth Nihilus, leaving little more behind than a lifeless rock and faded ruins.

Here the Mindeater had made himself at home. Natalie's path would not lead her to one of the handful major settlements that had followed Abyss arrival on the world, but instead to a small encampment upon the shore of the Black Sea. Derelict, ancient ships that had once sailed the waters of Katarr had become new homes for his followers.

What Natalie would see upon her arrival was not one of the notorious Free Cities, but a place where one would rise in a day of the future. The settlement was quite busy, engineers and agents setting up everything from basic security to water purification, while others scavenged the remains of the old world to make them something new. Yet "Shipwreck" was merely a stop on a far longer journey.

On Shipwreck's harbor a agent of the Inner Eye already awaited the arrival of the former apprentice, a small submarine waiting behind the young, wild looking woman of clear Malachorian origin.

"Miss LaForte, our lord is already awaiting you."

The woman tapped on the vehicle behind her, before jumping into the pilot seat with an mischievous grin. Once Natalie would follow her behind, the ship would depart from the shore and submerge deeper and deeper into the endless dark of the decayed sea.

Their journey would come to a stop when the submarine became encased in a energy field that kept the waters at bay, formed around a broken, withered ruin that had found its grave on the surface of the Black Sea. She would feel the dark, oppressing presence of the place the moment the vehicle opened up to allow her to enter inside.

"You should hurry, you know he doesn't likes to be kept waiting."

If Natalie's connection to the force really had faded she better had to rediscover it quickly, or else she would learn how fast the Drowned Archives devoured the lost in a fury of ancient stones and toxic water. The only landmark she could follow within the broken ruin was the twisted presence of her master, the opposite of an light to guide her through the myriad of pathways that all could mean her certain death.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Natalie descended in a gunship, the only other life form aboard being her sister who was genuinely curious as to why Natalie was meeting with this man again and was intent on keeping her safe from the stupidity of her previous actions. She had watched from afar as Natalie fell to the dark side, then rekindled with a more neutral path and now back to this course. While she wasn't pleased with the decision, given that she knew the dark side could only be activated through negative emotions, she at least wanted to make sure she wasn't in a life-or-death situation similar to last time.

"Oh great you're meeting with the serial killer again, hope you don't die." Screwing her face up and giving scoffing at the apparent idiocy of Natalie's actions.

"I still hang about with you... right?"

Carina scoffed once more and allowed the gunship to land, to which she was surprised to see a submarine, as was her sister. Though cautious, she reluctantly allowed her to leave while being silent in her future endeavors, knowing that Natalie could at least defend herself. Knowing all too well this was one of his elaborate ploys, even less impressive than the time he had kidnapped her and placed her into a prison outside of the known galaxy, in comparison this was child's play, or was it.

The intricate design of an energy field around the submarine to repel water was something she had to make a mental note of for her future creations, but for now she exited the submarine and began her descent into the temple, beginning to attempt to explore the darkness. She could hear a distant voice from her north and decided that was the first destination she would embark to; and the drowned archives certainly lived up to their names, and if the energy field were to disappear she herself would be drowned momentarily after. Currently, she found herself in the sunken path, remains of no doubt his previous apprentices but she was determined not to be one of them.

Slowly, she weaved through the corridors, with not an ounce of fear in her body.

 

[Darth Abyss]

Ghostly green light encased the husk that was left of Darth Abyss, lifeless metal held together by his obsessive desire to consume and devour. The torches around him did not burn by an conventional means, instead their fire was the product of fine glimpse of spirit ichor that dripped through the veil between life and death that had grown thin within the inner sanctum of Abyss' inner sanctum. Despite the physical distance that departed him from [member="Natalie LaForte"], the sith lord still closely observed his apprentice journey through the ruins that had become his home.

The Drowned Archives were more than some sunken library, in the day he had spend down there in solitude they had become a part of his very existence. While the path was dangerous, deadly even, it was far from the only challenge Abyss had in store for today. It was merely a warmup for the task he had planned for Natalie today, as she would learn once she survived the way.

The hollow creature lazily lifted his left, and near Natalie's position a wall would suddenly collapse, flooding her path with water that had rested behind it since the archives had been rediscoverer. If she planned to avoid drowning down here, her best bet was to run, and to trust her instincts along the way. Occasionally new walls would break apart, and sometimes ancient stones would rain down on her, every time that Abyss flicked one of his hands around.

Would she overcome each of these carefully placed obstacles, her legs would carry her into the innermost halls of the archives, where Abyss, sitting on the ground his metal legs crossed, would already await her.

 

[Darth Abyss]

Double post lol.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"As much as I enjoy a challenge..." sighing as the wall collapsed and some water began to gush into the area she was standing in, and as her instincts told her it was probably best to run in the opposite direction than be a water bender, but despite this one of the ceilings above her was crushed by the husk's grasp and pebbles shattered onto the ground below, some hitting her head and some simply bouncing around her. In the blink of an eye she held her hand up and erected a very weak force barrier, though couldn't maintain it for more than a few seconds and it itself crumbled.

Her only choice was to keep running, something she had not done for a while. Heels clicking against the stone, confused and flustered as to where to head next. Yet, she kept running, blinded by the darkness, not quite sure where she was actually going in the end. Multiple times she accidentally ran into stone pillars, not hard enough to send her blowing back into another but hard enough to add to her confusion even more.

Natalie was now firmly close to the Halls of Lost knowledge, but she didn't know that, she probably couldn't have even guessed that if she picked up one of the ancient books, but she had not reached them yet, still firmly grounded in the sunken path, deflecting as best she could the rocks pelting her. Even more concerning, she could begin to feel some of the cold liquid passing her feet occasionally, panicking as she soon realized she could become fish food in a matter of minutes with the rate that the water was beginning to fill the level she was on.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Abyss still monitored [member="Natalie LaForte"]'s progress through the Sunken Path, and he was more than a little displeased with her current performance. Unconsciously the husk shook his head slightly, as his apprentice continued to go face to face with multiple stone pillars that blocked her path. Calling upon the force once more he summoned the full power of his voice, not to guide her, but to place yet another obstacle in her path. The words bounced and echoed through the ancient ruins, shrouding Abyss' position below layers upon layers of new distorted whispers that joined them.

"I see nothing of my apprentice, nor of the Businesswoman I meet not so long ago. I only see the filthy little streetrat I stumbled over on Nar Shaddaa."

Despite his taunting tone, his words served another purpose than petty mockery. Instead he wanted them to remind her of the time they had spend together, remind her of the punishment and the belittling she had to suffer under his tutelage, so that the tainted spark of rage and frustration would once more ignite the all consuming flame of the dark side within her.

Did he enjoy watching his little insects run for their life while he threw crude insults at them? Of course, but not enough to make a hobby out of it. The dark side was fueled by raw emotions, and it was the dark side she would need to survive the last meters of her journey, even if neither praise nor salvation waited for at end, but only the unmoving, grinning visage of her old master.

For a last time the sith lord raised his hands, intend to let the entire section around her collapse in a crescendo of water and stones. The wave of dark side energy was framed by a hollow laugh, closing in on Natalie from every possible direction.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"I'm trying my best here..." panting from her mouth.

Natalie knew, at least when using the dark side there was no point in controlling her emotions, whereas when practicing the light she had to be so obedient. For some reason, she felt more free, though that didn't positively affect the fact that she was quite literally about to be drowned, and to be frank she could care less what the omnipotent force thought of what she was doing at this moment. Ahead of her, a miniature wave was coming, not enough to possibly make her drown but enough to pose a threat. Above her, the ceiling began to splinter and she already knew what was going to happen.

"You're just so s͓͚̹̰̜͓͇o̤͜ ̳̜͈͇̘C̰̤̠̹̼̫̺L͎͔̤̯̝̘̯E͏̱͎̲͖V̴̩E̶̼R͚̹͖̦̦̫ a̗r̲̣̀e̴͙̥͇ͅn̛̜'͓̫̟̼̳̰t̖̠̝̯̜̮͞ ͖͎̱͜y̺̘̼̘̠o͕̼̻̭u̸̙̦͎̬?" the end of her sentence becoming distorted in a slightly demonic voice that she seemed to faintly remember from the past.

A sudden rush of energy erupted from within her and shattered everything around her within 5 meters, the pillars collapsing and creating dust and rubble, the water being forced back to the entrance it was coming from and the ceiling above, if Abyss didn't try any further, the would be splintered rocks sent gliding into the level above. Once again, she panted, looking all around. The work done had been temporary, sooner or later the tide would come back in and she had to find an escape, luckily after being forced against a wall, she had knocked a chunk of stone out that was now sitting on the other side of what was the halls of lost knowledge, though she still was unaware after all being trapped in darkness.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Not the most elegant solution, but I have seen worse."

As the words, once again followed by wretched laughter, echoed around [member="Natalie LaForte"], the room around her would suddenly fill with light. Green flames ignited throughout the halls of forbidden knowledge, illuminating both the bookshelves that reached too high to spot the rows on top and the hollow figure of Darth Abyss. Without the use of his hands the husk rose from the ground, his empty body carried by nothing else but the force. His empty eye sockets remained locked on his former apprentice, despite the fact that they served no other purpose then look intimidating.

"To answer your question, yes I am that clever. One of the advantages once your mind is free of chains."

The sith lord finished his little theater with another broken laugh, while soundless steps carried him towards his apprentice until he stood uncomfortably close to her.

"I hope my little game has not left you exhausted apprentice. I have great things planned for you today. Plans for which you will need an identity and name more fitting for personal enforcer. Meet me once you are done, so we can return to the surface soon."

Natalie had to decide what was worse: The deliberate irony of sending her through a deadly maze only to make her walk back once she found the exit, or the collection of crude weapons and armor Abyss had prepared for her. Some were designed to mirror his armor, including masks styled in a similar fashion then his own. Other pieces included wide dark robes, spiky armorplates, and various pieces meant to amplify her vampirc features. Each piece was of only cosmetic nature, offering ltitle more protection than normal clothes.

Abyss had told her during their last meeting that his secrets would come with the price of serving him once more, and there was currently a lot of work that had to be done of Katarr. Her training would once more not happen within the relatively safety of an academy, but during a field trip inside the Free Cities.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

Natalie snarled quietly in response to him. "I'm fine, but must you have chosen such ugly clothing?" trying to catch her breath and looking at the scattered pieces of iron and cloth. Her eyes blinked multiple times in an attempt to re-adjust to the bright light that now surrounded here.

She believed this whole situation to be quite silly, having just launched her own line of fashion and being reduced to scraps of clothes only done to further amplify her vampirism, which she did not want in any way displayed in public. Most people had a negative reaction to that sort of thing, assuming that she wanted to suck the life force out of every living being with an ounce of blood in them. Truth be told, she hadn't drank for quite some time but was still satiated with the small amounts that she needed to take. Outside of ritual drinking, it was mostly synthesized to act like blood and was not actually taken from sentient.

Needless to say, she was left confused with what exactly he was looking for her to do, though she wasn't looking forward to walking back through the flooded and now partially destroyed sunken path and was looking forward to getting out of this particular area frankly, so she at the very least attempted to style herself in a way similar to what she was currently wearing, though it would never fully replicate it.

Truth be told she wanted one thing from this arrangement, amplifying her own power to be able to extend life. In a way, [member="Darth Abyss"] had already done that but certainly not in the manifestation that Natalie was looking for. She much wanted to maintain her fleshy being over simply becoming a metallic husk, though that would be ironic, going from a master of droids to almost becoming one. Though, at the time she didn't want to reveal that to him, but if he really even attempted to breach her thoughts it was always lingering that her time was definite, and was actually the reason why she had become a vampire in the first place.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"There are times for beauty, and times for ugliness. You would know that if spend more time listing to me instead of planning your next outfit."

Abyss was not one to deny that appearances could be used for more then to incite fear in others, but this was Katarr and not a meeting of some company's chairmen. It was bloody, dirty work that waited for her, not signing contracts and calculating her tax payments, and as she would stand right besides him she would have to not only enforce his will, but his reputation even if it meant wearing some crude patchwork of armor and clothe.

With a raise of his right he motioned her to follow him, once more taking up the journey through the sunken path, with one key difference. Abyss knew the archives in and out, and their path would not lead them once along that [member="Natalie LaForte"] had taken. Instead it was a mellow little walk without any complications and obstacles, what hopefully would only raise annoyance and frustration about the whole situation.

At the end, right outside the archives, still waited the submarine, ready to return them to Katarr's broken surface. Abyss gave the woman in the woman in the pilot seat a sign after he and his apprentice had entered inside, and the darkness below the slowly began to fade as first glimpses of daylight broke through the black Sea. Then their journey would come to a halt, releasing master and apprentice back to where Natalie's journey had begun today.

Wordlessly Abyss continued between the first structures of his new city, leading her through winding paths and into on wreck in particular. Inside numerous thugs and lowlifes hang on the ceiling, their hands locked in crude metal chains. Most of them were alive, even if barely. The sith lord turned to his apprentice, finally explaining what it was that she would have to do.

"I assume you desired to return under my tutelage to learn something very particular. Yet the path of the dark side rarely is so easy. I will not tell you what you want to know, but I will teach you how to find it yourself. Do you understand?"

Natalie would do good to remember that most of his enemies called him the "Mindeater".

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"I'm not complaining, I just like to look presentable."

As they walked back through the twisting tunnels of the sunken path Natalie could not help but feel slightly idiotic given the ease it took with light, in fact in hindsight she's wondering why she simply didn't bring out light using the force. Alas, she wasn't bothered, as they believed that she had done the best she could given the circumstances.

Natalie blinked as they approached the exit, the sunlight that just barely fading through the waterline was a welcome addition, given she had been trapped under the sea for what seemed like at the very least an hour. Curiously, as they approached the surface an exited she was definitely surprised to not see the white gunship she had come down in still there, perhaps Carina was assembling a rescue party or had simply given up on her sister's safety.

The silence was deafening as they continued walking to an abandoned city, and was taken aback physically as she saw several thugs hanging from the ceiling, men and women, some species which she had never seen before and stood in anticipation as she wondered just exactly what Abyss wanted her to do, if anything at all.

"Ambiguous learning it is." Continuing to look forward, not shifting her gaze even slightly from the captured.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"You have witnessed my greatest power, your even experienced a small test of it on your own mind. Now you will learn how to wield it yourself."

Abyss raised his right, and one of his thugs pressed a button to lower the chains of the prisoners. Slowly they descended towards the ground, those that still had some life and fight in the crying and twitching under the pain their chains left on them. The husk closed in on the one nearest to them, a young woman of roughly [member="Natalie LaForte"]'s age with eyes that still showed remnants of defiance in them.

"The power is already in you, but you try to resist it. Like me you have become a creature of hunger, but you still believe it to be a curse, a disease."

Long, deformed talons danced over the woman's neck, until one left a deep cut on it. Blood began dripping out, running down her body and Abyss' claw. Then the husk took a step back, allowing his apprentice to see the the vibrant, red liquid that her kind hungered so dearly for.

"Embrace your hunger, allow it to fuel you instead of fighting against it. When your mind is filled by nothing but a desire to consume, to devour, unleash it, use it to shatter her mind and rip out what is hidden within it. Make her thoughts the blood you so much hunger for."

The Mindeater took another step back, making room for his apprentice to begin her next phase of training. Every piece of power came with a price, that was the nature of the dark side. Now came the point where she had to decide how much she was willing to pay, what she was ready to sacrifice, as everything even dark in nature would require even more deranged things in return.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

As soon as her neck was pierced Natalie's pupils dilated, fixating themselves on the scar that was now forming. While it was unusual for a vampire to drink from an already open wound, it was even more unusual for them to do it against a non-consenting creature, so she set the practical obligations of her fangs aside for now. Was it a disease? She only wanted the so called "infection" because it could extend her own life, even if giving her a ridiculous disadvantage at even being out in the sunlight apart from wearing a specific sunscreen that, had she not spent hours procuring it herself, would smell awful. Thankfully, she guessed [member="Darth Abyss"]'s senses had dulled down since he became a husk of metal.

"I don't..." coughing into her arm and scratching in anxiousness "take blood without consent, that's a principal we all hold, at least not against living beings... but I'm more than willing to break her."

Natalie looked at the blood now spilling onto the woman's shoulders before blinking and trying to snap back to reality. Perhaps this would actually help her, shatter the woman's mind to convince Natalie what she was doing was right. There was nothing wrong with telling the person to give you consent... right?

Now, she was slightly less focused on the woman, at least in an odd creepy sense and began to examine her figure, which turned out to be quite similar to her own, though that was no surprise that Abyss had probably chosen this woman intentionally. She reached out her own hand and placed it a few centimeters from the woman's face, who was sweating and obviously nervous. In an act of retribution, she spat on Natalie's hand at which she scowled at, but she couldn't help but offer some mental sympathy to the woman given the position she was in.

Natalie shut her own eyes and imagined the woman's brain and ripping every shred of flesh apart to terrify her, projecting images of being attacked by vampires into her brain and causing her to scream in agony.

 

[Darth Abyss]

The woman screamed, but then her the defiance suddenly returned to her eyes. There was a fire in them, a broken will clawing to her sanity with all her fear, her anger and hate for the Husk that remained in the background. Obviously Abyss hadn't passed the knowledge of who these people were on to [member="Natalie LaForte"]. She knew nothing of the small cells of resistance that had formed in his absence, and that this woman and her compatriots were among a selected few that knew where their last bastion was hidden. Her weakness would mean the violent death of her friends and family, a motivation that could make even the rubble resist the tendrils of darkness.

"I would rather die then to bow to you. You're as wretched as your disgusting idea of a master."

Once more the woman spat out towards Natalie, her head hanging low as she kept fighting her mental grip. In the same time Abyss suddenly stood besides the two woman, despite the fact this his way there had remained completely unseen. The hollow eyes of the unholy being rested on his apprentice, and his presence grew into a terrifying, oppressing void.

"Power demands sacrifice. Your misplaced sense of morality is nothing but a chain that binds you. If your can not leave it aside, then you are no longer of worth for me."

The talons once more reached for the woman's neck, this time allowing the blood to fully coat them. Then he lifted them upwards, holding the red liquid right in front of Natalie's face. Drops fell the ground, leaving it to mirror a twisted, abstract painting.

"I said embrace your hunger. Blood to thoughts, thoughts to blood."

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"I'm not misplaced, I just have ethical limitations to what I'm willing to consume, but I make exceptions to those who openly choose to spit on me."

It was difficult, she could admit that; though whenever the woman spat on her for the second time it was the final straw. Her arm outstretched and gripped tightly around the rebel's neck, employing a choke on her, though only enough to at its strongest to deprive her of oxygen for a short period of time. Slowly, the gripped tightened and the rebel began to cough, water spluttering from her mouth onto the scrappy clothes that she was wearing.

"This will only hurt for a minute..." and within a blur of motion Natalie indulged herself and plunged her mouth onto the woman's neck, though not the side that had already been sliced open. This time, her own teeth sank deep into her veins, causing the woman to squirm with discomfort. As a matter of fact, the squirming was mostly the woman's perception of pain rather than what was actually be inflicted on her, after all they were simply teeth but with a bit more bite to them.

The sensation was out of this planet, literally, her eyes almost span as she felt rejuvenated. Synthetic was fine, but it was like eating a lite© version of a food, they lacked substance, texture and flavour. The real stuff was better over the fake in short. It took her roughly a minute or so before she was actually satiated with the sanguine liquid, after which she retracted her mouth, the other woman still attempting to catch her breath after the assault.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Good. Soon you will be the monster you so direly want to be, or at least which you have to become to claim what you desire."

The husk unleashed a unholy laugh as he watched [member="Natalie LaForte"] consume the blood of the other woman. His words made it clear that he was well aware why she had once more decided to undergo the torture and belittlement of his training, the same corrupted desire that all followers of the darkest paths would one day feel. The sooner she would learn that ethical limitations had no place on a quest for twisted immortality, the sooner she would make progress in actually claiming it.

After his words the Sith Lord stepped besides the drained woman, lifting her head up by placing a single talon below her chin. Despite the fact that her eyes still showed something, they had lost the shimmer of defiance and hope in them. Not fully hollow and broken, but close enough to assume that her mind was no longer an issue.

"Now apprentice, rip out her thoughts, and tell me what she knows. Then we can finally continue with the more important matters of your training."

In the mind of the woman Natalie would find the position of the last rebel cell on Katarr, holding out in a derelict tower that fell to the ground after overlooking the cities below for ages. Not only that, but the names and faces of anyone of rank and importance within the cell, giving Abyss the information he needed to have them erase forever.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

"With pleasure." Still staring at her, the woman wheeping from the psychological torture that she was being subjected to.

"And to think of it, if you just hadn't been so disobedient." Stepping black and crossing one of her arms while the other rested upon her chin, hip stuck out.

"You could always just tell me what I want to know, but I assume you like to do things the hard way."

The woman coughed and blood began to drip down her scraps of clothing, looking slightly worst than what Natalie was currently dressed with. "Haha... you think I'd tell a path-..etic... excuse for a.. Sith... wha-.. would get my famil...yyyyy killed?" The rebel laughed once more and spat onto the ground, this time the saliva not intentionally aimed for Natalie. Her words drowned as if she herself was being consumed from the inside out with her own blood, the very thing keeping her alive.

"How foolish of me for not wanting to kill you." Squinting her eyes, she once more tried to probe the woman's mind, the other individuals in the alcove feeling the pain she was suffering; though that did not stop Natalie. This time, it was much easier, whether that be because she had been revitalized through drinking the woman's blood or her psyche was now broken from essentially being drained she was unsure, but it only took a few seconds before Natalie smiled once more.

"The remaining rebel base is located north of the largest city on the planet in a collapsed tower. The leadership has almost been wiped out due to famine in the area and a reluctance for traders to approach the base of operations."

The other woman shut her eyes, as if she had given up all hope, possibly entering a deathly state.

[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"You heard her. I want them all dead before nightfall."

The agent of Inner Eye nearest to Abyss and [member="Natalie LaForte"] answered the request of his lord with a short salute, before reaching for his comm and walking away from master and apprentice. There was no need for Abyss to personally oversee the destruction of his already crippled enemies, and other than many sith he held not much interest in watching others suffers for no reason. Only when someone was worth a personal vendetta he would find pleasure in watching them die in gruesome ways, anyone else was just a worthless insect he crushed below his boot without looking twice.

"I granted you the ability to steal the knowledge of others, but what you seek will not be found there. Yet this new ability can help you find the path towards it. Come."

With slow steps the husk began his path out of the makeshift prison, and back into the center of the settlement. Immortality was never given, only claimed by those with the power to do so. Abyss wouldn't be foolish enough to change that unwritten rule of the sith, but that didn't meant he couldn't push his apprentice in the right direction.

"Tell me apprentice, how much do you know about the various paths that can free you from the chains of mortality?"

It was an honest question. His help would only be worth a thing if he knew where she stood. Sending her somewhere to recover knowledge she already had was a waste of time, and sending her somewhere beyond her current comprehension could lead her down a path where death and not eternal live would await her.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

A rather blunt approach to the problem, though she couldn't say that she herself would against the method.

"The furthest I've gotten is force stasis, but I know it's not actual mortality. What's the point of living forever if you can't experience the things happening around you? As you already know, I've at least cheated death for a good few years in the sense that I've extended my life considerably, but I want more. I work methodically, take time to plan things out. The bounds of this physical body, while attractive, don't suit my needs for the long term. Though I couldn't imagine myself."

She gulped.

"Looking like you."

Whispering under her breath.

"No offense."

Smiling, since she couldn't even see the man at this point, losing him on their travels to the settlement.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you look like before you... transformed?"

[member="Darth Abyss"] (Sorry forgot to tag again)

 

[Darth Abyss]

"None taken."

Abyss metal teeth produced the jarring noise the husk had had left to mirror a chuckle. Not that the sound had much similarities with the one a human made to show mild amusement, but it wasn't like he had anything else besides his actual laugh that was more a way of intimidation and terror then an actual sign of humour.

"I was simply a man before my transformation, marked by the corruption of the darkness, but besides that rather unimpressive. Ironically I made an effort to build the illusion of an terrifying appearance similar to my current form back then."

He could still clearly remember his human form. Pale skin, a thin skeleton consisting of little more then muscles and bones, a body ravaged by the illness that came with the abuse of the dark side, and a body scared by the years of war and hardship he had suffered through during his rise. Most interestingly he rarely thought about his face, about the crooked nose and the slightly deformed jawline. Instead it was his mask he remembered, and his vibrant yellow eyes, burning within it like fading twin suns.

"An interesting first step apprentice, even if I expected an entirely different direction."

The voice of the creature shifted, revealing hints of the collected scholar and research he had once been. In the time when he forged and designed his current body he had explored the various historical examples of immortality. Like a teacher he would begin a long, complex lesson on the topic.

"Even if you avoid to become like me, immortality will come with a price. The most common method among my kind is to possess new bodies with your spirit whenever the one before begins to die. I assume I do not have to explain the disadvantages of this technique. Other prominent examples are Darth Vitiate, who consumed the essence of countless Lords in one of history's most elaborate traps, and Darth Sion, a man so broken by pain that he simply refused to die out of spite even after his body was little more then decayed flesh. There are also Darth Nihilus and Karness Murr, who both discovered the wisdom that my existence is build upon. The jedi have their own way, coming back as pure spirits of the light. Yet if their research is to be believed they lack any sort of influence over the material world, and their existence is by no means permanent. The witches of Dathomir are known for their ability to return from the realm of the dead, but they do not become immortal by doing so. Few have returned more then once, as every time a part of their soul is lost in the nether."

[member="Natalie LaForte"]