Secret of Eclipse

[Darth Zilti]

The spectre laughed, a booming outburst like the rumbling of stone grinding against stone. "Your logic is faulty. Did you think that your masquerade would allow you to enter our abode, to steal our secrets? We allowed you to find us. We allowed you to call us from the depths of this world. And it is we who will determine the consequences of your attempted deception."

Maja could not help shrinking back, feeling for the lightsaber tucked into her robes.

"Did you think us charlatans? Do you even know what power we possess? By your actions. I would have to say not." The specrtre seemed to grow, its shadowy form stealing away more and more of the surrounding emptiness. "Others have come here before you. Do not think you are the first, or will be the last. Perhaps you would like to see some of those who have failed in this same endeavour."

With a wave of its arm, the Sith summoned three additional spectres. But these did not possess the same black form. These were faded grey figures, their faces contorted as if in tremendous pain. But even in their spectral form, Maja could tell they were Jedi Masters. And if the Sith could do that to a Master...

She jabbed her hand into her robe and yanked out her lightsaber, igniting it before she even had a firm grasp on the hilt. The blade hummed to vibrant red life, and she held horizontally in front of her.

The Sith shadow focused on her again, and then suddenly swooped forward.

Maja swung her lightsaber around in a wide arc, slicing the spectre from its left shoulder to its right hip. But the red blade passed through without leaving so much as a mark...

And then the spirit was upon her. It wrapped its shadowy form around her. Rendering her visual sense useless and at the same time burning her skin with a cold fire. She screamed and slashed violently with her lightsaber. But the spectre's attack only intensified; her body went numb from the pain as the Dark-side fire penetrated her corporeal shell and assaulted her spirit.

But instead of sweeping her away, it finally met her on level ground. She could not physically fight a ghost, but in a battle of wills, she suddenly found her own determination and use of the Dark-side its match.

So two virtual gladiators faced off in Maja’s mind. Her saber was gone and in her outstretched left palm was fire – just like the painting of the goddess Vahla. Maja stared at the flame for a moment – she had no idea how she’d summoned it.

Then she glanced up and saw the spectre too was mesmerised by it. No…terrified of it, she could tell.

“You are Vahla?” he said, “I did not know.”

“What do you know of the goddess,” she said, suddenly aware she’d gained the upper hand in the blink of an eye.

 

[Darth Veles]

Perhaps the Council already knew? Veles suppressed the smirk creeping up onto his face. Despite being a Councillor of the Black Rose himself, he decided not to reveal the young one’s secrets, not just yet. Everything had its time and for now he had to focus on more important things – plus he did not want to get his young friend into trouble. For now, the Mon Cal accepted her promise of revealing the mysterious Holocron later. If [member="Zaria"] turned out to be a traitor, Veles would not hesitate to silence her permanently by bringing his blades down her neck. This group did not need traitors and turncoats – in fact, the amphibious Sith Lord would greatly appreciate if the young Chiss continued to spy on the One Sith for as long as it took. They rarely let their grand plans of annihilation go unnoticed, especially if they wished to hunt down ‘fake’ Sith, therefore a swift warning in case the Convenant was in danger would save both lives and efforts of many. As long as it benefited the Black Rose, the Mon Cal definitely supported Zaria’s place in the One Sith.

All his worries concerning both Zaria’s future and the Black Rose’s fate dissipated the moment Veles’s attention shifted back towards the present, the great feast many would attend. The Grand Lady herself, too! From what the Mon Cal had heard, the old woman’s beauty reached the stars, but he took the information with a grain of salt. No woman’s beauty could every compare to the one of the Goddess. This time he made no effort to hide the smile gracing his face, one of the webbed absent-mindedly finding itself placed upon the blue-skinned woman’s shoulder, grasping it tightly in a hearty gesture of appreciation.

“Of course I will attend, Acolyte!” the Sith sounded almost too joyful, his large eyes sparking with anticipation, “We will let go of all worries and enjoy ourselves for once!” The last words returned Veles’ tone to the usual serious demeanour, almost as if he was about to spill a secret.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to accompany lady Zarrah. A sign of respect for my old Master, naturally.” At this point, he would not admit his feelings publically. The less people knew about them, the better; the fact his apprentice knew only meant Veles had to trust her on not revealing the secret to anyone. In front of everyone else, the two were just what he said – a Sith Lady with her former apprentice who wished to show his appreciation for all the years of hard work Lady Zarrah had put into shaping him into a true Sith.

With that, Veles parted ways with Zaria and swiftly strode back to Lady Zarrah, expecting to find the woman alone now. His assumption was incorrect, unfortunately, as one [member="Ciara Jevnaker"] still accompanied [member="Darth Zarrah"]. Gulping, eyes darting from one woman to another, Veles approached the red-skinned Togruta. Revealing his feelings to her without revealing them to another was a hard task, and the Sith thanked the old woman for teaching him how to mask his feelings in the Force.

“Lady Zarrah. Acolyte,” the Sith offered both a court nod before focusing fully on the one he loved. “May I have the honour of accompanying you to the feast hall, lady Zarrah?”

Veles extended his hand in a gesture, offering the woman to take it so he could lead her straight to where fun was.

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion rubbed his hands nervously together, formulating a proper response to Lady Venefica. The Munn could count how many Force users he trusted on one finger, and the sole benefactor of his trust stood before him now; questioning the reason he was here. He had in his pockets to datapads, one to show the profits the company was making and the other to show what projects had been completed and which ones where still in progress. However, he noticed, hopefully not to late, that his eyes kept wandering to the table where purple crystals where glowing and being examined by two scientists.

"Ah, yes. Why I'm here? It's in regards to TDI, mi'lady," Tion said smoothing the rough edges from his voice.

Tion produced the first datapad, the one containing the profits, and turned it on. After following several prompts and repeated questions of entering his passwords, all security applications he designed himself, he handed the datapad to Lady Venefica. He stood in silence as she read the reports, trying to read her body language. When the datapad was handed back to him, he shut it down and reutned it back into his pocket.

"The quarterly reports have doubled since the last time I spoke to you. Profits are up and everyday we are receiving more contracts."

"By TDI's accountants the company by year's end should see a major spike in sales. Which, naturally, will increase our profits substantially," he added finally.

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Grima Volitu]

"Why of course sweet Avreet," Zarrah replied taking his offered hand. "Have you met young Ciara, Avreet? She has such a remarkable story about her life. She will be joining us as well." Zarrah bowed her head toward the tall girl. The three walked together through the halls toward the banquet hall. "Did you know Avreet that Ciara here use to be a Jedi? It's true. Such a remarkable story indeed." Zarrah didn't hate the Jedi like most Sith did. She learned to understand them and learned to avoid them not because she felt threatened by them - but like the Sith they too had blind followers. The young were always so quick to throw their lives away.

"Ciara, have you met Avreet, Pardon me, Lord Veles? He was my Apprentice at one time." Zarrah looked over at the girl reading the expression on her face. "I see you are confused. Allow me to explain, Ciara? Not all Sith try to kill each other. Some in fact form a strong bond of friendship," she was saying as she gently squeezed Avreet's hand. "Some even find love for on another. It's rare to see two Sith in love but the heart is a strange thing is it not Lord Veles?"



[member="Darth Veles"] [member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Darth Venefica was quite impressed, pleased really, with all the hard work her CEO had done during her absence. When she, along with Tion Dr'iol, had took the company over and rearranged it's stature to better equip the needs of the galaxy; both never envisioned the magnitude of profits that could fill their pockets. The datapad was detailed with graphs and charts, none like she had ever seen before.​

​

"You've done remarkably well, Tion."​

​

Before he could hand her the next datapad, she pointed to the table where the crystals were under scrutiny by the scientists; and led him over there. The crystals, what had survived her calculated destruction of the cave, were the last of their kind. To call them rare was a gross understatement, but it was the only title fitted for them. When the two stood in front of the table, she closed her eyes to indulge herself in the power of the crystals. The Darkside was strong in the crystals.​

​

"When you return back to the TDI headquarters....I want you to personally look for four guardians to watch over these crystals. They will be assigned here and their lives are connected to the crystals. I want intelligent guardians....not low-life thugs."​

​

"Now....what else do you have me," she asked.​

​

[member="Tion Dr'iol"]​

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Tion felt his cheeks blush with pride at the simple words from his boss, something only the Sith Lady could pull off. He had to be honest with himself, all his hard work of late was to please his boss; and if she was happy then the whole of TDI would be happy. Then she threw him for a curve when he was asked to join her at the table, where the purple crystals were glowing; casting haunting shadows on the faces of the two scientists. Her next words caught him further off-guard. She was asking him to find guardians to watch over these crystals, and he didn't know the first thing about finding people of this sort.

"Yes mi'lady, I'll look into right away."

Tion produced the second datapad from his pockets, and like before entered the proper codes and sequences to activate it. He turned the datapad over to Lady Venefica, and remained quiet while she looked it over. If she was happy with the profits, then she will be doubly pleased with the production of TDI.

"I have a meeting with another company's owner to discuss joint operations. I will bring up the topic of the Black Rose."

[member="Darth Venefica"]

 

[Darth Veles]

So [member="Darth Zarrah"] also knew of the woman’s gift. Or did she? Veles had noticed many saw something entirely different in the young girl. For the Mon Calamari, it was the gratefulness for being given another chance. Without this woman, there would be nothing but an empty hole in Zarrah’s heart, a painful memory of her old apprentice that had taken his own life rather than the option of becoming a Dark Jedi. Veles would never be able to repay his debt in full, as there was so much more the woman had saved than his life. It was most fortunate she had landed in bed with the Black Rose instead of falling for the One Sith like so many others before her. The strange twists of fate brought them all together, and now Veles stood accompanied two very special woman. He owed them everything. One blessed him with wisdom, power, and most recently, love. The other made it possible for the two to continue their relationship. It was good the two women finally met, and apparently got along very well. The great secret remained there still – and Veles fully intended to unveil it before the feast.

“Indeed!” the Sith Lord answered, sending [member="Ciara Jevnaker"] a knowing smile that said it all, “We do know each other, Lady Zarrah.”

As the three of them went through the halls towards the great feast that awaited them, Veles smiled upon Zarrah’s revelation that he used to be her apprentice. Now Ciara knew the exact nature of their relationship, which the Mon Cal confirmed with a nod. Usually he tried to keep it a secret – the less sentients knew about the love blossoming between Zarrah and her old student the better – but this one could be trusted.

“Yes, lady Jevnaker,” Avreet nodded, both eyes searching for something in the girl’s crimson orbs, “Many Sith and Dark Jedi believe that love is a weakness. In fact, most try to destroy the very being they love in order to become stronger. Others slay their masters simply to prove their strength. While there may be some truth to these beliefs, blindly accepting that love equals weakness would be foolish. Love can be more powerful than any other passion – we only need to turn it into strength.”

Avreet returned the grip of Zarrah’s hand, lifting it up and bringing it closer to his mouth to plant a gentle kiss on it. His eyes shifted to the red-skinned Togruta for a moment, a caring look locking with Grima's gaze when he stopped. Rushed and muffled voices could be heard from all around, servants and members of the Black Rose alike made the last few preparations for the feast.

“Lady Zarrah, I believe there is something you don’t know about our friend here.”

Their physical connection parted and Veles walked past Ciara, standing behind her as he placed his webbed hands on the woman’s shoulders, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“This beautiful young lady is my saviour. Her power brought me back to life after my unfortunate demise on Alderaan. Your prince would be waiting for you in the Void if not for Ciara. Lady Jevnaker, allow me to say how very grateful I am for being given a chance to continue working with the greatest of all Sith... and you, of course! Your potential will greatly benefit the Sith.”

 

[Darth Zilti]

The spirit faltered, she could sense it.

"I know only so much - from days past. Vahl was once a mortal. Adept at using the Force. She led your people to conquer what became your homeworld. I it still exists I know not. Records are...incomplete. Following the Jedi's near genocide of your species, they purged all information - as they do with anything Dark-sided."

"But mortal or deity, she became a goddess. The Ember of Vahl worshipped her. She was their goddess and their leader. They followed no other, swore allegiance to no-one else. She embodies fire and destruction and spoke via a six-priest coven. Those Chosen of Vahl consulted the goddess through Farseeing and ritually scarred themselves."

Maja's hand involuntarily went to her face. To the mark she'd received on Kashyyyk. A coincidence or destiny? And there was the Dark-mark as well as the scar on her back - and her left upper arm.

"What of the high priestess?" Maja wondered of the One Sith's coven.

"Blasphemy," came the response. "There is the goddess and there is the coven. Who would dare to put themselves between the two?"

Maja smiled. The truth was always enlightening. For too long it had been hidden in the dark. "And what of other leaders?" She knew where she was going with this line of questioning but needed to hear it from the spirit himself.

"There is the goddess. Only the goddess. A true Vahla cannot follow two Masters." The spirit seemed to sense her thoughts. "That Dark-mark? If you truly believe in Vahl, it will wither and die. Those that fool themselves they can be loyal to both are fools. They will never be truly Chosen - although I suspect they will tell others they are."

It was done. Maja allowed the flame to dissipate and she was once more standing in front of the spirit. "I received what I came for. Your Dark-sided secrets are nothing to me compared to the truth I now hold."

And she turned on her heels and exited the obelisk.

 

[Zaria]

With the departure of Lord Veles and her business concluded in the library - Zaria went to look for CJ to show the girl what she discovered about the holocron. While Zaria walked she began to think about the amulet she discovered on her last outing for the Black Rose Council - the same outing the holocron was discovered. Zaria didn't understand alchemy or Sith magick. She would have to seek out someone that did and currently the only two she knew personally was Darth Zarrah and Darth Venefica.​

​

Zaria didn't want to disturb Lady Venefica so soon after her return from Eclipse. That left Lady Zarrah. Zaria swung around the elbow of a corridor seeing Lord Veles, Lady Zarrah, and CJ standing together. Lady Zarrah had an arm hooked into the crook of Lord Veles. Zaria heard the rumours that those two were an item. Zaria didn't understand relationships nor did she want to. She was content to being alone - friends were different but she needed no romance in her life.​

​

"Pardon me," she said stopping next to the trio. "I found some information about our holocron, CJ. When you are free we need to discuss this." Zaria turning toward Lady Zarrah said, "If you have time after the banquet I have a couple of questions to ask you regarding alchemy and Sith magickal constructs."​

​

​

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"] [member="Darth Zarrah"]​

 

[Via Dolorosa]

CJ turned toward Zaria, remembering their holocron. She almost forgot about the little odd shaped object, whose Darkside energy threatened to overwhelm her. CJ turned back toward Lady Zarrah and Lord Veles, frowning. She wanted to join them at the banquet, but she had previously mentioned to Zaria that they needed to unlock the mysteries of the holocron. And if she was here now, she found something. Sorry rumbling stomach...next time.

"Forgive me Lady Zarrah, Lord Veles. Previous engagement."

CJ nodded her head toward Zaria to follow her down the hallway, her mind racing with excitement to learn what Zaria discovered. Once the two girls where away from the ear-shot of anyone else, CJ raised both her eyebrows; waiting patiently. Her left foot began to tap on the floor as she waited for Zaria to speak.

"Well? Stop keeping me in suspense," CJ blurted out.

[member="Zaria"]