Private Reborn Within the Tombs

[Akhema]

Akhema had spent enough time on Coruscant to satisfy her curiosity and feed her what she felt was a sufficient amount of knowledge about this strange future she had found herself in. It was, strangely peaceful, and she had made at least a neutral acquaintanceship with a the Jedi Master Valery Noble. She had even cooperated with her to handle the Sithspawn in the undercity levels of Coruscant. Terrorism was unacceptable to an honorable warrior such as she. The two had parted on amicable terms, so much so that the Jedi had even wished her luck in finding her place in the galaxy and what the Force had in store for her.

What it was that drew her back to Korriban though, was nostalgia. It was this planet that she made her first kill, and that she had learned everything that her life had been and what it was now. Cloaked against the mild sandstorm that blasted the surface, the Pureblood walked through the Valley of the Dark Lords to revel in the ancient history of her people. To think so much had transpired that had resulted in such a precipitous fall that the Sith were pushed to fringes beyond even Sith space. This had been a previously difficult place to travel, but modern hyperspace technology made it that much easier. She was lacking in rage at the moment, and given only to melancholy. Such power that had flourished in the ancient times now waned. The Sith needed a true leader, one that had the vision to comprehend that an Empire was worth nothing if it resorted to destruction rather than conquest.

A heavy heart guided her to the tomb of Sorzus Syn, the Dark Jedi that codified the Code of the Sith. It was by her words and guidance that the Sith flourished and by them too that they failed. It was a volatile existence, rife with constant change and progress. For the Sith, they rejected the stagnant outlook of the Jedi. This bitter philosophical divide had caused so much suffering for her kind. That, is what sparked rage within her. She knew that the Sith perished en masse recently. Their imperial aspirations crushed before they could truly take root. This was not the way it should have been. The Sith were eternal, and even in death the Dark Side was strong. In the antechamber of the tomb she dropped to her knees and bowed in deference to the might and prestige of Sorzus Syn, if only to prevent the interference of enraged spirits.

Her thoughts stuck firmly within the nature of the Sith code. She had cooperated with the Jedi on Coruscant, but if they worked to oppose her aspirations to build an isolated Sith Empire here in the core home worlds then she would have to meet them in kind. It might have been a long shot, but she wanted to simply return the Sith Empire to its roots, to build it back up on traditions and strength. These planets were essential to her, to her people, and to the ways of the Sith. This was where it had all begun, and where it would be reborn. She was going to lay claim to the title of Sith'ari and return the Sith to glory and power. This was her home then, and it was her home now. Korriban would rise again.

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Whatever the reason the First had, Isari was here. The dark spirit hidden within her lightsaber, the being that made up the very crystal, had it's own agenda. Desires. What, the young Acolyte was still trying her damnest to figure it out. From what she understood, it was the only path for the Tremiru to regain their fame and Isari to regain her prestige. To be free of living as a groveling acolyte and rule above her lessers again.

So she came here. Another tomb, another secret to uncover. OR was there something.. More? She stepped through the shadows of the tomb, acutely aware that she wasn't alone.

Someone else was here.

Akhema

 

[Akhema]

"What are you doing here, child? Do you even know what this place is?" Akhema asked without looking at the intrusion. They had come to this place, but were they seeking knowledge or some misguided adventurer trying to prove that they had daring? The very core of her shuddered with anger at the idea that some looter had come to this place, but it was apparent that these tombs meant nothing to outsiders, let alone those Sith who had forgotten the Ancient Ones.

The Pureblood rose from her position of deference to the powerful Dark Jedi that rest here, "If you mean to dishonor this resting place then you will have to kill me first. This sacred tomb is under my protection and I will not allow further harm to come to it." she said, and with a simple telekinetic pull drew her lightsaber. With a telltale flourish she saluted and assumed the opening stance of Form II, prepared if this stranger intended to press their luck. The icy blue color of her saber illuminating only the immediate area around the Sith still revealed she was of the true Sith, a Pureblood, one with the direct touch of the Ancient Ones coursing through her veins.

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

A pureblood?

Isari's eyes narrowed at the threatening tone Akhema spoke in. A wave of fear rushed through the young Acolyte as she reached for the blade on her own hip, pulling the saber free. A Jedi? The startling blue of the other's weapon caught her off guard. What were Jedi doing here? After the botched crusade, the planet had been left for dead. The Acolyte didn't ignite her blade yet, still holding onto the ancient weapon.

Though the runes that were carved into the metal began to glow their own red.

"Sith Tombs are elaborate challenges for the next generation to learn from the old. What is a Jedi doing here?"

 

[Akhema]

The young woman as she had come to learn the identity of the intruder, had shown her ignorance. Akhema was looking at a child, or at least someone who had very little working knowledge of things outside of what they had heard and personally witnessed. In a way, the Pureblood envied that ignorance. "If you come to learn from the ancient traditions then tell me, to whom does this tomb belong? What were they famed to have done in their life and why does their importance resonate down through the millennia?" she asked, turning her saber off as the natural response to teach crawled into her. She had instructed in the ancient academy and now that instinctual need to lead the blind to the truth had taken over any hostility she had answered the intrusion with.

Of course there was one lingering thing that rankled. She had been called a Jedi and that was simply untrue. "Stretch your sense and ask yourself again if you believe me to be a Jedi. I could take your life right now for the insult, but that would not teach you anything. It would be a pity to leave a knowledge seeker dead and forgotten in the tombs." she continued on, "A weapon is not what defines the Sith or the Jedi, child. Let me ask you this though, if you will indulge my curiosity. Why would you assume a Sith Pureblood would be among the Jedi as one of their own?"

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Isari's gaze narrowed. She felt Akhema the moment she stepped into the tomb, but what did that matter? "Have you been in this tomb for centuries or something? There are plenty of Jedi Purebloods. And plenty of Jedi use the Dark these days. The only thing that would say you're Sith would be that damn saber of yours." It was an odd arrogance to how the young woman spoke. Given how full of fear she was though, it was probably a guise to try and hide that. Her hands trembled as she gripped her saber.

No, she didn't want to be left dead in a tomb. But Isari was ever full of pride.

 

[Akhema]

"Foolish. Your fear betrays your arrogance." she said, reaching out in the Force to show the woman just what she could do. It was no choke, nor was it an attack, but it was a series of telekinetic inputs meant to unnerve the woman. "I come from a time before any of these false Sith that traipse about the galaxy pretending they are powerful. I come from a time when the Sith were the greatest singular power in the galaxy, when we brought the Jedi and the Republic to its knees in fear. I am thousands of years old, and I have seen what passes for Sith in the galaxy now and I am unimpressed." Akhema said, not letting it slip that she was frozen for all of that time. The more she could impart fear into this child's heart the more likely it was she could gain compliance from her.

"I am touched by the ancients. My blood flows with a purity and power that the Jedi Exiles imparted upon my people. I was here when the Academy still taught Sith, and I was here when the Sith Empire crushed Coruscant and destroyed the Jedi Temple. I am the past, I am the present, I am the future. I, am the way. I am the Sith'ari and I will rebuild the Sith Order. You must ask yourself now, whether or not you want to be there when the Order rises from the ashes, or if you want to be a discarded failure." Akhema said, unleashing her presence in the Dark Side to allow it to flow freely. She might have been easy to detect prior, but she let herself go and allowed herself to feel the full force of her rage and hate.

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"False Sith?" For a moment, the fear Isari felt subsided. In place, a grin as she watched Akhema . "You've been away far too long. Calling yourself a Sith'ari? Do you know how many there are?" The young acolyte couldn't hide the sneer, though the display of power immediately brought her right back to her fear. She'd seen other Sith who called themselves Sith'ari. She'd seen the Empire. The Maw.

The Acolyte took a half step back, both hands now gripping her weapon.

"T.. There's far more powerful Sith here than you think."

 

[Akhema]

Akhema was remarkably patient, but that patience has worn thin. She reached up with both hands, intent to bring the woman to her knees in a position of proper supplication before not only a superior Sith but the tomb in which she stood. The Pureblood sent tendrils of dark energy to grip firmly at the knees intent to make her bend them so she could show proper respect. In tandem she worked another to bring her down further, so that she could be in a position of pure vulnerability, a bow of deference, "You would be wise to show respect. This is the tomb of Sorzus Syn, the creator of the Code of the Sith. It is by her word we guide ourselves in the galaxy."

The Pureblood seethed with fury as she did this, releasing the energy only if the woman fell to the expected position. Regardless she served still more knowledge, "If you come to seek knowledge in the tombs, arrogance will not serve you. You are one slip away from the enraged dead seeing to it that your mind does not leave this place whole again."

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

For arrogance, punishment. Isari was fully expecting it, though she didn't realize just how bad of a bear she was poking. The Acolyte struggled, trying to keep herself up. But she was weak. Too weak. Within seconds she was down, struggling ever still to try and rise but unable. She grit her teeth, but she knew. Deep down she'd always known. She was nothing compared to Sith Lords.

But to think this was the tomb of the creator. Was that why The First had sent her here? She stayed quiet, listening to the Pureblood speak. She'd pushed her luck far too much to say anything else and risk torment alongside the humiliation.

 

[Akhema]

"Now that you are in proper deference, remember this position, this pain. It will serve you well." Akhema said with a grimace on her face. "Now, child, elaborate for me what brings you to this hallowed place. Why does an acolyte dare tread in such a place without proper guidance or instruction on how to show respect?"

The Pureblood turned her hand toward the tomb door and unleashed raw energy into it. The lightning flowed into the stone and lit the runes on the walls. With a cloud of dust and grinding, the stone door opened a path deeper into the catacombs in which Sorzus Syn and her servants rest. "You are here to learn, and I can teach. Follow me deeper, I will teach you one of the simplest lessons of all in the most appropriate place for an acolyte to learn. Sorzus Syn was a brilliant mind, and she was capable of doing great things with a mere thought. Her will was unmatched in her time. Come with me and I will enlighten you."

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Isari said nothing. When the power was finally let up, when she could finally stand, the young Acolyte did that. She closed her eyes regardless, bowing her head. Whatever Akhema was planning to show her, it would be worth it to know. Sith with power like that are rare, rare enough that the Tremiru knew enough to follow. She turned her gaze to the door as it opened. The deeper part of the tomb.

".. Fine."

 

[Akhema]

"These tombs are even more ancient than I. Ruined though they are, there is beauty and knowledge in them. These hallways are chronicles, stories that tell us of the past that so many of those who would call themselves Sith seem to have forgotten. Sorzus Syn was one of the first, the Jedi Exiles that left defeated during the Hundred-Year Darkness. It is by her hand that my people were elevated from their primitive roots, and by her hand the Sith Order was codified. She was a gifted alchemist, and further yet a gifted healer that pioneered new ways for the burgeoning Sith to mend their wounds with the Dark Side. Freed of the dogmatic oppression of the Jedi, she flourished millennia ago here on Korriban. The Jedi fought to stop the spread of the Dark Side of the Force, but in the end they only freed it. A mistake they have been zealously attempting to correct since the inception of our Order." Akhema instructed, as if she were guiding a tour in a museum.

The Pureblood stopped at a wall with elaborate carvings. "Tell me, child, can you recite each line of Sorzus Syn's Sith Code? Do those who taught you even go that far? You must know something, lest you would not have come to Korriban. This planet is the true seat of power to the Sith, and you would be wise to remember that. Even those beyond this planet that claim the title of Dark Lord know that for them to have any legitimacy they must control the core planets of Sith space. Without them they are mere pretenders." she continued on, harboring her hate and using it to open the chamber before them. It was here that the servants of Sorzus Syn were laid to rest while still living. Death was not an end, but merely a new beginning. There were powers that the dead had that the living only dreamed of controlling.

"Please, child, enlighten me. From where did you travel to find yourself on Korriban? There is no true Sith Empire, so I am curious as to who is out there pretending to the mantle."