Secrets

[Alkor Centaris]

[member="Valrayne"]​

Frigid rain beat down on the muddied ground as a lone figure made his way toward a rocky outcropping. The overhang sheltered him only partially as the wind swept sideways and peppered his body with icy pellets. When he reached the wall, nature itself seemed to distort around him. He reached up with a pale hand and traced patterns that had been carved there with his fingers, illuminating a hidden Eldritch glow.

The Force responded with a wail. Of all the perversions of the darkness, Sith Magic twisted and corrupted the order of the universe above all else. The spell woven and inlaid in this place was no exception.

Words in a guttural tongue fell from his lips as he bid the very world beneath his feet respond, and it did. The ground began to tremble. Raindrops ceased their momentum midair, and all around they hung in the sky like diminutive daggers. His eyes found the point where the spell clung, and his fingers grasped it tight.

He ripped it away like webbing, and it tore easily. The ghastly green luminescence scattered and slowly faded into oblivion. Beyond, the door creaked and slowly opened. "The Tomb of the Nameless King," he mused as he looked inward, down the stairs that were swallowed by darkness.

Upon his first step, disjointed flames of violet began to spring to life and lit his way.

 

[Faegard]

It wasn't so long ago that the hustle and bustle of busy space stations had been overwhelming. Exciting, sure, but a little overwhelming. I hadn't exactly had a socially-rich upbringing after all. But now, as I sat perched above one such a station, one leg casually dangling off the overhang of my little outcrop, I watched it all with mild interest. Below, hundreds of people from dozens upon dozens of species rushed to and fro.

My tail lay beside me, flicking casually, occasionally landing against another, much large tail.

Unlike me, A'Baal did not seem to find the pleasant serenity in our spot. The huge ebony cat lounged around me, allowing my back to lean against his great furry side with much reluctance. To an outsider, he might have appeared merely as a well-trained pet or companion, and that was primarily his role. To someone more learned in our biology, however, might have recognized him as felacatian, just as I am. Two sides of a feline coin; beauty and a very disinclined beast.

I casually lifted a sandwich to my lips, turning my gaze to the huge silver dome above use that protected this busy little station from the cold vacuum of space. As ever, the great beast huffed, reading my thoughts.

"There's an idea, queen," he purred, his voice a deep and unnatural growl, "I could hurl you into the void of space and watch as it tears you asunder."

I chuckled,

"Sandwich?"

The great sith turned his head to me,

"No."

What, no smug retort? No threat? That... wasn't right. I pulled myself up from leaning against him, turning to face the beast. I met his piercing gaze, staring well beyond them into the spirit behind. Although our minds are connected, I'm still barely a novice compared to him. All I could feel were feelings. He was unsettled, smug, but... uncertain.

"A'Baal... what have you done?"





[member="Xenro"]

 

[Xenro]

Seldom did Xenro make specific journeys to worlds. Instead, he followed a precise list of destinations based on their importance, or his need for what they had to offer. This world was altogether foreign to him. Felacat- known for its strange, feline demi-humans more than anything, if not for a strange voice attempting to vie for his attention directly, he would never have set foot on it at all.

Yet when a powerful spirit reached through the Netherworld and sought him specifically, there was no chance the Necromancer could ignore it. So rare was it for a Sith Spirit to be the initiator, Darth Xenro lusted to understand the phenomenon. Here he stood, in the tomb of a powerful Sith Spirit- one he had communed with only once, and only for a short time.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, and the air felt dank, thin, and stale. Life had not come to these halls in hundreds of years. And still, no life had come.

Only Xenro.

"Surrender your secrets to me," he murmured as he stretched out his thoughts, seeking the crypt and the mummified corpse within. He knew the creature he sought no longer inhabited that form- rather, he assumed it did not, because such beings rarely existed that inhabited their bodies posthumously- and so, he would use the ichor of the Sith to commune with his Spirit.

At least, that was his intention in coming to this place.

[member="Valrayne"]​

 

[Faegard]

The tomb had been disturbed.

Even an ancient Sith as powerful and mighty as A'Baal was compelled to heed the command of the power of a necromancer's spell. The air turned colder than usual as the soul of the sorcerer was called back to his place of rest. The mummified body in the sarcophagus was humanoid in shape, the skeletal remains of a tail now visible as the wrappings had decayed somewhat. However, the spirit that manifested before the intruding figure did not resemble him at all.

Perhaps the feline man would have had black fur, but it was impossible to tell now. The visage of a mighty feline beast emerged from the hiss of the ichor, the felacatian's second form. It seemed as though the shape of the cat was barely distinguishable from the eerie black mist that surrounded it, with the exception of two glowing eyes that pierced into the necromancer.

"Xenro..." The sith's voice was low, almost demonic in its unnatural purr. It shook like it came from a rattling corpse rather than the spirit hovering over it, "you heeded my call."

The felacatian warrior paused to scrutinize the man before him.

"There is a young sithling that I would see taken care of. The queen is felacat, like me. She has no training, but stumbles into rituals far above her skill. I can lead her to you, and for this I would ow you a debt."

​

My gaze was on the cat as he stared at me, those two piercing eyes giving nothing away.

I could feel my heart begin to race in my chest. Something wasn't right. The first tinges of panic began to encircle my mind as I reached out to his. The sith kept his own thoughts locked down, shutting me out completely as the uncertainty became stronger, more rampant.

"A'Baal," I said again, my voice low with warning, "tell me what you did."

At this, the might sith sighed. I didn't grin with victory, however. It was considered a loss when I had to compel him to obey me through our bond; as though I was cheating almost. However, obey me he did, the great cat crossing and uncrossing his mighty front paws,

"I beseeched another Sith." He answered me in his grumbling purr, "to take care of you."





[member="Xenro"]

 

[Xenro]

His gaze remained even and his expression unchanged. Xenro had made pacts and deals with spirits in the past, but few and far between had interests in the lives of the living. A loved one, perhaps, or a traitor might have compelled a powerful Sith Lord to take direct action in such a way. But for an ancient spirit to invoke a favor, something truly had to be amiss. It was enough to draw laughter from anyone else.

"The cost of a life," Xenro spoke at last. "You understand that the currency has not changed in four millennia, yes? If you want a living soul snuffed out, the payment is steep."

It was a matter of balance in the Force. Though Xenro loved to extinguish life, he had to respects delicate duality. The power of Sith Magic threw the natural order into disarray, and for a Sith Lord to call upon it, he had to both understand the forces he was tampering with, as well as abide and preserve their laws under every other circumstance.

For a Sorceror to ask something so very costly of him was... considerable.

"You are certain?"

[member="Valrayne"]​

 

[Faegard]

The long-dead Sith stared intently into the eyes of the one that still breathed, glowing eyes studying the man before him. Yes, he had chosen well when he sought out this one. Anything that was enough to unsettle the great beast required a skilled hand to rectify. The man questioned him, asking if he was sure, recalling the ancient pacts that long predated both of them. At this, A'Baal snarled, revealing the mouthful of deadly sharp teeth.

"Don't recite the ancient pacts to me, breather, death has given me more wisdom than your years have you. Do not presume I've not had eons to understand the cost of such a request."

The great beast swished his tail dismissively, folding back his ears and turning up his great maw.

"If you don't think you can do it, then stop wasting my time. Otherwise, I can send you her force signature."





[member="Xenro"]