The Faces of My Past

[Lord Ghoul]

@[member="Lucien Cordel"].

Thronebreaker. A name that brought fear into the hearts of many, hatred into that of others. It did not inspire love. It was a name that provoked enemies and allies, but never friends. Those who were not his enemies were but temporary allies, wary of a man whose mercurial nature caused unpredictable destruction. The man behind the name, Mikhail Shorn, had lost his purpose. In all the galaxy, this man had but a bare handful of friends who he could count off on one hand. He'd killed some. Others had turned against him. Now there remained but two: Spencer Jacobs, who he had pushed away; and Lucien Cordel, who he had poisoned.

The Sith Empire had fallen. They had been his captors and his saviors. They had been his reason for living and his reason for hating that life. He had been hell bent on its destruction, but fought all others who attempted to claim his kill. With it gone, he no longer knew who he was anymore. Was he truly free at last? Had he surpassed all boundaries and broken his chains, the ultimate goal of the Sith Code? He felt like he was falling through life in a dark hole that stretched on for eternity. Existing without reason. He needed a fixed point to center himself.

A half-drunk Mikhail Shorn stumbled into Lucien's private quarters. How he'd gotten past the guards was anyone's guess. He collapsed on the sofa, bottle of bourbon in his hand, and made himself at home. The scoundrel stared at the door with piercing blue eyes and waited for Lucien to come home.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

The sound of land speeders heralded Lucien's arrival then the opening and closing of a heavy door. Mikhail would probably only here muffled speech about Dinner, as Lucien ascended the stairs.

Lucien furrowed his brow as he approach the door which led to the upper east wing of his mansion on Zaadja ... There was someone in there ... A very important some one ... He smiled then walked back to the top of the grand staircase "Adern, I want the name of all the guards who have been on duty since I went out" He called down then returned to the door of his private wing.

He pushed open the door to see a drunk Mikhail Shorn on his couch he smiled "My Lord Shorn what a ... Pleasant surprise" He tossed himself onto a Chaise longue near to the coach "If I had known you were coming i would have had something prepared" He couldn't help but wonder what had brought Mikhail all the way to zaadja ... It probably wasn't good news.
@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Mikhail stared lazily at his former apprentice. Married now, apparently, or so he had heard. Well, good for him. Shorn took another swig on his bottle. In typical Mikhail-fashion he ignored everything that Lucien had to say. That and he was pretty wasted. "I'm bored, Lucien."

He rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. "The Sith Empire's gone. Poof." He imitated a soft explosion with his hands. "I spent five years trying to climb my way to the top just so I could knock it all down. And somebody else beat me to it... What the hell do I do now?"

Piercing blue eyes looked over at Cordel. "Fighting the Republic is so boring. There aren't any wars. And I could care less about the Fringe. I don't have any friend, besides you and Spencer. And I've almost gotten both of you killed." His words were slightly slurred. "I feel so angry all the time. I need something to break, Lucien, or else I think I'll just explode."

@[member="Lucien Cordel"]

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien poured himself a glass of wine and listened his head inclined slightly, His master was in a sorry state he shook his head. The Breaker of thrones had been brought low and it saddened him ... for a time then he noticed Mikhail was lay on his coach with shoes on, he stood up "I have some ideas to alleviate your ... suffering" He said sliding back into a standing position "but first get your shoes off my coach you ... will ruin the upholstery"

There was a knock on the door followed by Lucien's assistant entering he had the list of guards, which Lucien quickly took off him and marked out 15 names "See those people are arrested" The assistant nodded and turned to leave "Wait ... are there any good, erm ... Pleasure houses on zaadja" Lucien was slightly embarrassed to ask having never used a harlot. The servant smiled "Of course Your grace" Lucien nodded "Bring the best ... harlot here for Lord Shorn"

Returning to his seat he reclined backwards "There is very little that I can allow you to break at the moment , but I need to punish a group of the guards who were on duty when you walked in between them and bed companion your suffering may be temporally alleviated whilst I find something else ... Perhaps you could break another throne"

@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]

 

[Lord Ghoul]

Shorn scowled at Lucien and then rolled his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, I don't want a prostitute. And I'm not killing your guards. Anyone can be bad. You think I couldn't destroy this entire place and everyone in it if I wanted to?" A touch of anger entered Shorn's voice. He leaned forward. The bottle of whiskey sloshed dangerously but didn't spill. "If I'm going to be bad I want to be bad with a purpose."

The Sith Lord purposefully didn't take his feet off the sofa.

His blue eyes bored into his former apprentice. He'd been through so many bars, women, and murderers since the Empire collapsed. But no matter how many women he screwed, no matter how many bottles he drank, no matter the body count... he always woke up in the morning feeling empty. Devoid of purpose. "I'm tired of killing nobodies, but there aren't anymore thrones to break, Lucien. The Empire was defeated, but where'd the Sith all go? You, me, Dranok, Kaine? There have to be more.... I can feel them out there. Hiding somewhere. Don't you ever get tired of being just another 'Sith Lord'? Don't you ever want to be the Sith Lord?"
@[member="Lucien Cordel"]

 

[Lucien Cordel]

(I looked over your faction, it looks great but it is unfeasible that Lucien would abandon his wife and his pampered lifestyle to go and raise hell ... However I am trying to contact the guy who used to Rp Lucien's adopted son to transfer the character to me and he can join you, If not I will create a new character and join)

He smiled "You may be able to destroy my house, yes ... I have others" he smiled, His master was drunk and broken it seemed. He raised his eye brow at Mikhail blatantly ignoring him. Then the topic moved to the sith "I am sure there are other sith out there but I question whether I desire to find them I only need one homicidal friend and that role is filled by you ... and in answer to your second question no I don't desire to be the Sith lord I have enough fancy titles ..."

He lent back he couldn't do as Mikhail wanted he like this life too much but he also didn't want his friend and master to leave unhappy This was a conundrum to be sure. He rose with a groan and poured himself a whisky, then he had an idea he turned back to Mikhail "My son however is another story I have experienced chaos and it put a bad taste in my mouth he on the other hand seems to crave it I will talk to him soon when he returns from university."

 

[Lord Ghoul]

(It is more of a covert thing, although I figured Lucien wouldn't join.)

Shorn raised an eyebrow. "You have a kid?" He snorted and leaned back in the sofa, letting the cushiness relax the tension he felt. That and the liquor. He drank another mouthful. Apparently, there were a lot of things he did not know about his former apprentice. "Sure, I'll meet him."

Silence crept in for a few seconds as Shorn studied the table. He could feel the Dark Side hanging in the air, filled with a vibrant energy that seemed to hum. Mikhail breathed in deep and the energy rushed into him. Power. He could feel it coursing through his body, setting limbs trembling. Sparks danced across the fingers of his left hand; his only human hand. Cybernetics whirred, barely audible, as his right fist tightened. He breathed out in a rush and released the power. But he didn't want to. He wanted to drink it all in.

Ice blue eyes looked up at Lucien. Mikhail's lips turned up in a slight smile. No more fancy titles. That was why he liked Lucien. They thought the same where it counted. He didn't give a damn about titles either. But this wasn't about titles. This was about power. "You don't want another title. And I could care less about it, but... I want to destroy them, Lucien. The ones who care about the Sith Order. I want to rip them apart. But I just can't put my finger on where they're hiding..."

He spoke, of course, of the Sith Council. The One Sith hid their affairs far better than others. Shorn knew nothing of them, nor did the vast majority of the galaxy.

@[member="Lucien Cordel"]

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien smiled and spoke into Mikhail's mind "He is adopted, and at present he is my only heir so I need him" He lent back rolling his head to the side, it was hard work being rich and slightly powerful. He listened to what Mikhail had to say then replied all be it begrudgingly "I have a proposition for you I will help you in an unofficial private capacity ... on the assumption that you take my son on as an apprentice, My name is never mentioned in relation to this and thirdly that I can withdraw support if this begins to affect my currant position or life style and that if that happens you will take no action against me and continue to have my son as your apprentice" Lucien looked up "So do we have a deal?"

 

[Lord Ghoul]

"Apprentice?" Shorn slurred. "Apprentice?... fine. But I can't promise I won't kill him."

Secretly, Mikhail hoped that Lucien's son resembled him in more than just looks. As an apprentice, Cordel helped to ground Shorn. He provided that voice of reason that held Mikhail back from doing the darker deeds. Deeds he would regret later. He wouldn't try not to kill him, but only for Lucien's sake.

He grit his teeth and stared at @[member="Lucien Cordel"]. The guy stood for everything Mikhail hated. Sith. Nobility. Refinement. So why the hell did he care so much about him? Maybe... maybe because Lucien cared back. The man Shorn stared at was not his creation. He'd been a poor excuse for a Master. Yet, Lucien still seemed to regard him as a sort of superior. No, not quite... more like... an older brother. The smack of realization took Mikhail in the gut. That was why he cared about Lucien.... Cordel, for all his foppery, reminded him of Seth. He hadn't been able to protect his younger brother, but he would protect Lucien. And his son.

Mikhail leaned back, nodding slowly to himself. "I won't mention you Lucien.... you and your totally-not-cheating-with-Anders wife will be safe."

Shorn fell suddenly asleep on Lucien's sofa. The bottle of whiskey slipped from his fingers and hit the carpet. Empty.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

(What happened to Seth)
"Then I can't promise I won't withdraw support at a crucial moment" He smiled

He much like Mikhail had no intention of abandoning his side of the bargain, this was for two reasons; firstly Mikhail was his friend and secondly Mikhail scared him. He watched Shorn deliberate for a long time, they were losing their youth but unlike Mikhail Lucien didn't fear growing up. He had no inclination to cling to the rash thinking and bravado attitude of youth. Then his master turned friend lay back and agreed to the last two terms.

"You have my thanks" Lucien said leaning forward, he watched as Mikhail fell asleep ... his whisky bottle dropped onto the cream carpet "Kark" He thought, whisky would discolor his carpet ... he only started breathing again when he noticed the bottle was empty. He stood up walking over to Mikhail. glad to see corrosion of the liver had yet to claim his friend. Then he walked out to go and eat "Get Lord Shorn a blanket, remove the whisky bottle and for goodness sake remove his shoes before he ruins the upholstery" He ordered a passing servant who immediately lost colour, Mikhail had a reputation for being dangerous. Never the less he gathered a blanket then carefully went about his task, desperate not to wake the sith lord.
@[member="Mikhail Shorn"]