The Secret to Eternal Life (Invite Only)

[Lord Ajihad]

It was a chilly winter morning on Coruscant. Though it was cold enough to snow, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Vi'kas Mirtis was dressed in black silk robes as he looked out of the window in his Coruscant loft. He marveled at the mechanical beauty of the city, and thought of the work it must have taken to build it. The entire planet was one big city, for God's sake. The workload must have been incredible.

The fresh (or as fresh as it got on Coruscant) morning air cleared his mind, as thoughts poured into his head. He thought of how much their was to do in life, and how little time there was to do it in. He sighed, if only there was a way to live forever. Leaving that thought behind, he headed for the library in the Sith academy.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Despite his intimidating and vicious appearance, Vi'kas was highly intelligent. In his free time, he often enjoyed reading. He often enjoyed historical books and tomes, in hopes to learn ancient secrets. He liked reading stories about the Sith Lords of old. Revan and Nihilus were his personal favorites, though all of them were quite interesting. He especially liked reading about Revan and his Star Forge, and ancient Rakatan space station.

Perhaps it was fate that lead him to a crimson book laying high upon a black shelf, or perhaps it was something else. It caught his attention as he was just about to pick out a book called The Theory of the Force, a book he had seen several masters reading as he crept through the quiet halls of the library. He used the Force to pull the red book from the shelf, guiding it right into his hands. He grinned. His skills at manipulating the Force were getting better by the day.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

He read the title of the new book: ​Sidious, a Dark and Wonderful History. He raised an eyebrow at the title. "Sidious, Sidious," he mumbles as he tried to place the name. Then, it came to him. He remembered reading about the old Dark Lord of the Sith in some ancient history books. He was supposedly one of the most powerful Sith of all time. Vi'kas frowned, wondering what one had to do to earn such a title. Either way, he was about to find out.

Seemingly by the same mysterious force that led him to find the book, he opened to the first page of a chapter labeled Transfer of Essence. Again, Ajihad frowned, wondering what would be in such an oddly named chapter. "Transfer of Essence," he thought out loud, "I don't believe we've met." With those thoughts in mind, he began to read.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The more he read, the more interested the assassin became. Even if he hadn't had his musings that morning, he still would have been hooked. The seemingly useless title was just the opposite. In fact, it was a literal godsend. Coincidence or no, Vi'kas wasn't sure. Looking back on it, the circumstances in which he had found the book were a bit unusual. He had been holding a rather attractive looking book, but he had discarded it in order to pick up his current read. Why was this such a marveling coincidence? Because the chapter spoke of the only way to gain true immortality, through the force.

Though the chapter wasn't long, and didn't go in-depth as to how the process worked, Vi'kas must have read those ten pages a thousand times, making sure to observe every little detail. He then went on and read the rest of the book. He was highly interested in the subject, and was determined to how to unlock its secret.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

A few hours later, the assassin (who was quite a fast reader), had finished the crimson book. He had found no further reference to the ability, except of how it was employed by Darth Sidious himself. Besides that, the book had basically been a biography on the old Sith Lord. Whether or not the long session of reading had been a waste of time was yet to be seen. Either way, he needed a drink.

He strode towards, the library's exit, thinking about what he'd get to drink in the cantina. Perhaps a glass of Rhuvian Fizz, in celebration of his discovery. As he exited the library, he sighed. No doubt this would be a long and arduous task ahead of him.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

He made his way into a local bar, often frequented by Sith who wanted to sit back and relax. Ajihad also found it was a good place to subtly pick up on rumors and gossip, both good thing for an assassin's ears. The cantina was where he picked up most of his hunting/assassination more often than not. However, today he would go there to just relax and a have a couple drinks.

He walked into the Slurring Sith cantina, right past the two Wookie bouncers. Their presence really was unnecessary, given the fact that most of the club's patrons were deadly Sith Lords and Knights. If the furry brown creatures tried to stop an unwelcome Sith, they'd end up losing a limb or two. The Demon's Fist sat down at the bar, looking up at the Rodian bartender. The alien was used to dealing with Sith, resulting in a little less nervousness in voice. "What can I get you, sir?"

"I'll take a glass of Rhuvian Fizz."

"Y-yes Sir!" The Rodian scampered off, leaving Ajihad to his thoughts.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

A couple minutes later, the Rodian came trotting back with a glass filled to the rim with the knight's favorite drink. He sighed in happiness, taking a sip of the sweet drink. It brought back memories of more carefree times, when he owed no allegiance to anything but his God. He sat there, looking around the bar. There were many patrons there, sitting around, having their own private conversations. He recognized a few from around the Sith academy. There was a pair of Knights in the back, obviously lovers. He saw a lone bounty hunter foolishly pointing his gun at one of the sitting Lords. A few Sith were already starting to get up, stalking towards the hunter. Ajihad swiveled back around in his chair, a smirk on his face. He wondered how long that poor chap would last.

When Ajihad was nearly finished with his drink, when he picked up on a nearby conversation by two law enforcement officials. As an assassin, he liked to train his ears by eavesdropping on conversations. It made good practice for when he was out in the field, spying on individuals and listening in on conversations. He started blocking out other outside noises, hoping to hone in on the officers' conversation. Little did he know how much this conversation would alter his little escapade to find immortality.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

"Another murder. This is getting out of hand."

"I know, right? The only thing worse than the murders themselves is the paperwork it means I need to fill out."

Ajihad gave a little smile. He realized how bad crime was in Coruscant, and it got worse by the day. Though, for some reason, it seemed somewhat amusing to hear the words coming from the mouths of those who dealt with the crimes themselves. Getting interested to see where the conversation was going, the assassin continued to listen.

"Yeah. The only good thing is that the demand for law enforcement is high. Means I end up getting paid more."

"That's true, but is the money really worth the late hours? The away from our families?"

"Nowhere even close to being worth it. But at least I know that what I'm doing puts food on the table."

"Yeah, I agree. At least we're lucky enough to eat decently on this nasty planet."

"(Sigh). You know what would make my job easier?"

"What's that?"

"If I could talk to the dead, ask them what happened. You know..."

Ajihad stopped listening at that. The man's sentiment had just struck the assassin with a GREAT idea. Talking to the dead... that was it! That was the key! Quickly finishing his drink, Ajihad ran out the door, and into the night.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Not long after, Ajihad would arrive at the One Sith cemetery. It was a massive place, where the servants of the Emperor were buried. There were millions of graves there. It was so large that relatives wishing to visit the graves of loved ones had to take a shuttle to where they were buried. A thick mist always covered the place, adding to its morbid eeriness.

Due to the large amount of graves, it would take lifetimes for Ajihad to talk to all the ghosts there. Therefore, he would let the force guide him in this endeavor. He kneeled down on the moist ground, and began to meditate. He let his mind intertwine with the force, becoming in-sync with its mysterious ways.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

As Ajihad became one with the force, the ghosts began to show up. He was viewing the world through the force, when the first one appeared, floating above a grave. After that, they began popping up everywhere. Thousands upon thousands, all in the same place! They were wailing out, asking for help. Some cried for loved ones, while some were confused as to how they died.

Ajihad tuned them out, listening only the force. He let it engulf him, and change his perception of reality. He let it know what he wanted, and what he desired to find. It listened.

All the ghosts began to fade away. All except for one, that is. A lonely ethereal spirit floated above a far-off grave. It seemed to just be looking around, as if observing it's environment. Immediately, the assassin took off for the ghost.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Just a few minutes later, Ajihad arrived at the grave. The ghost of a very elderly man floated above it, thick glasses propped up on the bridge of his crooked nose. He looked at the assassin with a puzzled look, as if trying to make some sort of scientific observation. The assassin took a moment to observe the undead figure before speaking. "I have summoned you from the realm beyond the grave. Now, what do you know about the secret of immortality?"

The figure stared at him for so long, Ajihad began to think he was either mute or deaf. Just as the assassin was going to inflict some serious pain on the ghost, the figure let out a long, raspy chuckle. "You'll have to forgive me, lad. Never thought I'd see this world again, much less talk to someone who lives in it. It's also been quite some time since someone's joked with me like that. I was a history professor at a nearby university, though I'll refrain from telling you my name. I know nothing of immortality, probably because there is no such thing."

Ajihad frowned. He could tell the man wasn't lying, which was a major disappointment. Was he losing his prophetic gift? "Do you know any spells or incantations? Anything at all?"

"Sorry lad, just a professor. Can I return to my rest now?"

The assassin was beginning to become angry. This had to be where he was supposed to go! A deadly tone began to seep into his voice as he spoke, "Do you have any books or tomes that might contain a spell? Do you know anything that may have just the slightest incantation?"

"I owned nothing of the sort. Unless... There is... at least was a private collector by the name of Hutchinson. Lived by the university, he did. I recall he had some sort of Sith journal, supposed to have led to buried treasure. Kept it under lock and key, he did. I once..." Ajihad cut him off mid-sentence. With a wave of his hand, the ghost was gone. Ajihad had work to do.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Ajihad would spend the next ten minutes finding out who this Hutchinson character was in his private Coruscant loft. Yes, Coruscant was huge, and there were thousands of people there with the same name as his quarry. However, he knew the man was a sort of collector. Therefore, he had to have a lot of money, which narrowed the scope a significant amount. Coruscant wasn't the richest of planets after all. The ghost he had talked to radiated a certain kind of vibe, one that told Ajihad he had died not long ago. He was willing to bet his target was still alive somewhere on his list, and he was determined to find him.

The assassin then proceeded to pull up the holonet, and began a search. He would cross-reference every name on his narrowed-down list with keywords such as "treasure," "Sith," and "Journal." The assassin was no slicer, but he was rather efficient at using the holonet to track down his quarry with seeming ease. He set the program to alert him when it completed its search. It had been a long day, and he needed a bit of rest before setting out again. While it was true he didn't sleep much these days, he still needed a bit of shut-eye every once and awhile. With that, he laid his head down to take a well-earned nap.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Some time later, the holocomputer beeped. The light sleeper sat up immediately, squinting at the bright screen. There was but a single result for the search, a certain Rodrick Hutchinson. He was an antique collector, whose crown piece was supposedly written by a Sith lord. Unfortunately, it was written in the Sith language, so no archaeologists had been able to fully translate it. However, their best interpretations led them to believe it led to some sort of hidden treasure. With this Ajihad smiled, as he wa one of the few who knew the ancient language.

He got an address for the man's estate, it was unsurprisingly in one of the richer districts of Coruscant. Just as he was about to shut the device off, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Apparently, the man was running for some sort of local office. Under the advertisement, it described a benefit party he was holding at his mansion. It seemed the fates were with Ajihad, as the party was that night. With that information, he set off. Ajihad had a party to go to.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

Classical music drifted down the rustic halls of the one and only Hutchinson Estate. The ballroom was filled with guests, slowly dancing with one another in their fancy suits and dresses. However, under its docile appearance laid a fortress of a mansion. Guards were posted at every entrance and exit to the ballroom, and security cameras were everywhere. Technically, as a Sith, Ajihad could have had the whole place raided legally at his will. However, he wanted to keep this operation as totally secret as possible.

An invisible figure slipped past the guard standing by the entrance to the east wing, and silently climbed up the stairs. Using floor plans he had hacked for, Ajihad walked up in front of a heavy-security door. He went out of stealth mode, and pulled out his datapad. Pulling out a JACKAL code, the assassin began slicing. He was no whiz with technology, but he could get by. He sent the cameras on an infinite loop, and forced the doors to slide open. With that, he stepped into the now-open room.

 

[Lord Ajihad]

The assassin stepped into the room, taking a brief second to admire the sheer amount of collector's items this man had. Each and every one of them must have costed a small fortune. As Ajihad scanned the medium-sized chamber, his eyes stopped on a glass case the size of a large box. A slight grin crept across his face. He had found his prize.

He walked up to the case and reached out with telekinesis. He didn't want to set off any alarms by breaking the glass, so he would just need to read through it. He slowly began translating, trying to read as quickly as possible. He wanted to finish reading the journal by the time the part was over, after all.

Several Hours Later

By the time he was done reading the relatively short journal, Ajihad was thanking the gods sophisticated parties took forever. The journal wasn't too long, much his comprehension of the Sith language was a bit rusty because of lack of use. However, he had finally been able to get the gist of it in the end. In summary, there was a place called the Eternal Pyre on Korriban. In the Pyre, there was supposedly a mural of King Adas. Behind the mural was a tunnel that lead to a vault containing jewels, as well as a cursed spellbook submerged in a pool of blood. The journal didn't say how it was cursed, just that they were. Ajihad was willing to bet that within that book he would find his 'immortality' spell. At that, the assassin set off. There was work to be done.