The Tall, Tall Shadow is Your Own

[Setzi Lunelle]

Part of Setzi Lunelle's training from Padawan to Knight required her to practice her Force skills in solitude for long periods of time. Knight Mullarus urged her to find her own path, without him, so she could learn to rely on the careful meditation sessions, and her own inner strength, in order to advance.

But it was more difficult than she imagined, and the more time she spent alone, the more her thoughts drifted to her past – to Darth Pyrrhus, her daughters and the Xilsaga. Spending long nights in the Pirate’s Foe, devoid of friends or company, she began to meditate, not on peace as she should have been doing, but of how to get back to Glee Anselm. Again.

The brunette padawan wasn’t interested in revenge. That would be Darth Pyrrhus’s territory if he chose to stake his claim in it.

Redemption is what she longed for. And answers.

Currently Xilsaga held them in her gnarled, claw-like hands.

After setting off on her journey to Glee Anselm, Setzi donned the black robes of the Sith. She didn’t need to fool anyone at the Academy, or most of all her former lover, Darth Pyrrhus, but she did want to blend in. Her lightside Force signature would give away her alliances, but marching onto her old water world home dressed in brown padawan robes would only paint a huge target on her back.

She knew he would feel her as soon as she touched down, so instead of going straight to the Academy, where she would probably be imprisoned - maybe right alongside her own Sithspawn - Setzi landed the Pirate’s Foe near to an island above ground. Making her way to a nearby cave, the beauty of which was in stark juxtaposition to what malevolent activities went on underwater in the Academy, she went for a quick swim in the aquamarine lagoon which spilled into the cave.

Once she was done, Setzi sat meditating, knowing he would be coming for her.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

@Darth Azurea

The past few weeks had been turbulent ones for the One Sith. A coup had been staged, and it had failed. The aftermath, however, left the hierarchy in shambles and in need for reform. The Dark Lord was dead. In the end, the staunch loyalist Darth Pyrrhus had betrayed him. Of course from his perspective the Dark Lord had already betrayed him. By that logic, Pyrrhus’ actions did not qualify as treason.

No doubt other Sith Lords would flock to the power vacuum like moths to a flame. He was content to let the bickering on Coruscant between loyalists, rebels and those in-between go on for a little while longer. Meanwhile, Pyrrhus consolidated his grip on his fifth of the galaxy. No longer would a Dark Lord claim ownership of these territories. They belonged to him now.

Plans were made, scouts and envoys sent out. The eye of Santii was so firmly looking outwards, that it had for a moment become blind to the domestic. When he became aware of the intrusion, his first reaction had been shock. Not because she had returned, but because she had done so without his knowledge.

Her presence was ever familiar to him. She had returned in such a way before, but it became clear to him that she did not have the same intent in mind this time. There was a gross taint to her, like a cancer eating away at his oceanic fortress. There was light in her. That he would not abide.

Azurea had lit the fuse of his fury. She had been permitted to his innermost sanctuaries, and as such her betrayal stung the deepest. For a second time his philosophy on the One Sith, and the strength of small groups loyal to each other and working together towards a common goal was under siege. It had recovered from the first attack. He was not so sure it would a second time. With the Dark Lord conveniently dying around the same time, a great many things were changing. It was the dawn of a new era. What being a Sith had meant yesterday was not the same as tomorrow.

His evolution was in progress, and he would put no breaks on it. It was clear the only way to move forwards was to confront his past. Like he had destroyed Tanek Santii, he would destroy this version of Darth Pyrrhus, and all that came with it. The stain of the light side would be annihilated in the process.

Pyrrhus did not bother with armours, strike forces, or any such tool useful in fending off intruders. This was a personal matter. He would allow no interference. It was one of those things he had to do alone, or forget about being a Sith entirely. Dressed in the dark robes of the Sith, lightsabers clipped to his belt, the Togruta strode out to meet his former companion.

He knew exactly where she was. She could not hide from him, nor did she try it. Soon, his shuttle would take him above surface just by the island she found herself on.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi’s trip to Voss had consumed her thoughts and actions over the last few weeks. Therefore, she had no knowledge of the Sith civil war, nor any divergent groups that were splintering off to form their own darkside cells. She really should have paid attention more to what had been going on, but solving the mystery of her sister’s disappearance and her padawan training had taken up all of her mental and physical energy.

Perhaps Darth Pyrrhus would fill her in all of the on the latest news as he used to in their Glee Anselm home.

After her swim, she dressed back into her black tunic, wrapped a large belt around her waist and donned elbow-length, black leather gloves.

Spoiler

Her Sith robe lay at her feet, too stifling for the warm island air. Sitting on a rock and wringing the moisture out of her hair, she wondered if her former lover had continued building the palace she’d been designing with Nautolan engineers. Was he still indulgently keeping Bellatrix around to take her place in his bed?

Setzi knew she would find out soon if she was so inclined to ask questions. She could feel him approaching closer.

Still she wasn’t on Glee to trade family holo pictures. She had pointed questions for him and a favor to ask… depending on his temperament for conversation.

Once her hair was mostly dry, she opened a compact and applied a deep, red lipstick. In her reflection in the lagoon, the color looked strangely like a crimson gash of blood on her face. One hand was always ready to grab at her lightsaber in case Darth Pyrrhus made a sudden appearance. The Togruta Lord was a master illusionist, and Setzi needed to be ready for anything, including a hallucination of one of her daughters to fool her. The powerful Sith Lord wouldn’t be above that type of mental manipulation, so she tried to expect it.

If their conversation degenerated into blows, the padawan would be prepared. But for now, she made herself up to look like The Goddess of Kursid, with rosy, luminous cheeks, flowing chestnut locks and an ethereal glow. Setzi was succeptible to Pyrrhus’s strong Dun Moch, so she needed something to combat that inherent weakness, even if happened to be her face and body – the one that he would remember from their trip to that primitive world.

Still sitting but poised and alert, she listened for footsteps that would signal his arrival.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

The journey to the cove in which she resided in was spent in silent focus while Pyrrhus cleared his mind. Not like a Jedi, who distanced himself from all emotion and kept his mind free of thought. He encouraged the torrent of emotions, yet sharpened it towards one purpose. Like a slowly building snowball, he collected his hatred. Layer, upon layer was added, before store the ball away. Safely contained but ready to burst. The Dark Side radiated from him like never before. He prepared his body and his mind to do what was necessary.

When he finally did arrive, calm steps carried him towards what he expected to be her location. There were no illusions, no battle-plan to attempt to rig the field in his favour before a battle broke out. He did not approach this as the assault on an enemy position. What he sought was a moment of clarity, that hopefully contained the right questions and answers. Though he did not feel as if he was about to face an enemy, he knew that was likely how things would develop. Even so, given their history, he would have her explanation. If anything, she had earned that much.

Perhaps he had thought that when he laid his eyes upon her, everything would make sense and be simple from there. He would find his concerns realized, come to terms with that, and then approach the matter. Yet hate did not come quickly to him. Not yet. She looked stunning as always, much like the dark queen that had stood by his side for many years now. Like him, she was dressed in black. The colour suited her. Still, she had discarded it from her soul. What had once been pure once more became obscured with weakness. Had it always been like this? Had he been too blind to notice? He felt the rage slowly building. He had a feeling this was not a return from another wild escapade, nor did she come seeking forgiveness. Time would show if she decided to insult him further.

"Azurea" he said by way of greeting. His tone was cold and plain, revealing neither the relief of seeing her again nor the hurt from the state he found her in. Formal and precise as he often was, he intentionally omitted using her Darth title. Though whether she would pick up on it or not he did not know.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Her mundane human ears were no match for his montral's echolocation, but Setzi had spent some time on Shili, practicing hunting and tracking her prey like the Togruta Sith Lord had. She stayed very still and listened, picking up sounds and vibrations she had not heard before - the drip of water in the cave and finally footsteps nearby.

Using Force Sight, the padawan peered through the cave walls, and sure enough, she glimpsed him approaching. Her body now became alert and coiled like a spring. Setzi couldn't help but smile. She was so close to what she wanted, but the negotiation to get there could be miles of road that neither her and Darth Pyrrhus had ever traveled before - not on such opposite sides of that path.
And there was no suprise when the Togruta finally rounded the corner. His fury was palpable. She longed to drink it in for a moment, to sip it like wine and bask in it like a healing spring. Oh to embrace that madness!

How beautiful that would be. How freeing the loss of control.

Setzi remembered how he had taken on the pain of her darkside healing on Kursid. She never knew what Darth Pyrrhus had gone through for her. Only that he had made that incredible sacrifice.

She pulled out her Blade of the Satvas awarded to her some time ago by Sage Bane. The metal of the blade itself was colored indigo meaning that she was serene, but it vacillitated between a dark blue and a subtle crimson, picking up her emotions which were extremely fluid at this moment. She palmed it but did nothing else with the weapon.

"Tanek," she said, invoking his birth name, hoping to jar him a little from his careful presentation. How poised he always was. Statuesque. And just as striking and handsome as ever.

"Have you been taking good care of the Xilsaga?" she asked. The question might surprise him, but she actually had come back to recover her Sithspawn, who she now knew held the key to the mystery that plagued her - the whereabouts of Chastity. She refused to think that her sister was a pile of bones in some Temple of Pain graveyard.

He would notice that her eyes were a vibrant green, and not filled with a cold malice as her jaundince, corrupted irises had been. This may upset him further, but she gazed upon him with warmth.
Unlike the last time she returned to Glee Anselm with her tail between her legs, this time she was not afraid of his retribution. No longer was he her "Lord." He was Tanek Santii, a simple sentient being herself that had a childhood filled with equal parts wonder and fear. Perhaps this was futile, but she sought to reach that small child again eventually.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

Now that it was clear she was aware of his approach, he eyed her carefully while trying to figure her out. He hoped that by reading her through the Force, he might get some answers to her otherwise unpredictable and confusing state of mind.

Before long she drew her blade. So it had been with hostile intentions that she had come here. He recognized the blade, of course, as the Blade of Satvas. It was slightly puzzling to see her wield it still. Perhaps she had not completely fallen to the Jedi yet? After all, the blade was imbued with the Dark Side, a corruption the Jedi were unlikely to allow her to keep on her person. Ever fearful of anything that might expand their horizons, they probably would have confiscated it. So she still held some ties to the dark... He found it hard to imagine she would have changed her mind towards what she viewed as a decadent, child-murdering cult.

Then again, she had been tempted before. Temptation was her weakness. He had let it slide once before, but now it had become painfully clear that she was not to be trusted. Her lust had even driven her to abandon her children. But if she did not plan to align herself with the Jedi nor him, then who? The only person he could imagine would drive her to such craziness he had killed.

His analysis of Azurea and her motives was interrupted when she called out his name. Not the name of the being he was, but the imperfect creature he had been. Tanek. Had this happened years or even months ago he might've thought she meant it as endearing. A personal nickname that only she knew him by. In the context he met with her now, he could not believe that. It confirmed to him that she had made her choice. The choice had been to remove herself from his regime.

It took all the self-control he possessed to not lunge at her then and there. Though he considered himself master of his own emotions, she found the short-cuts to his buttons. Because he had let her into his inner circle, she had seen him for what he truly was. Their ambitions had combined, and they had together worked for that common purpose. Now she had betrayed him, and stood against him. Instead of charging and engaging her in battle right away, he would accept her wishes. If she was not with him she was against him. She would be exiled from Glee Anselm and all other territories he considered to be his own.

Pyrrhus had intended to answer, after calming himself sufficiently for speech. But then she threw him off for a second time by bringing up Xisalga. That was far from what he had expected, and he found himself shocked. This time he could not remain silent. This time the insult went beyond just him, and he felt the need to step forwards to act as a shield for his tribe against this foreign invader. "Xisalga? Out of all the things to say, to ask, that is how you choose to start this interaction?" his disbelief was evident in his tone. "Have you forgotten completely about our daughters?" but it was not the well-being of her children or even him that lay foremost on her mind. It was her beastly creation, the Xisalga. Safe to say, he did not dignify it with an answer.

Instead, he reached for his Sith robes and cast them aside. The motion was one she would be familiar with, as he had done so many times before when the two would engage in a spar. Although he wasn't precisely sure why she had returned, he was convinced her goal would not be to his benefit. Most likely, he thought, she had come to assassinate him. She would find that he would not go down so easily.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Darth Pyrrhus’s disgust and outrage over the fact that Setzi was asking about the Xilsaga caused her to giggle unexpectedly, the notes of her laughter rising up and down like a Chindinkalu flute. On the outside what he had said was perfectly rational: by the maker, why was she interested in the half brain dead Sithspawn and not her own daughters?

But he did not know what she did about the Xilsaga’s origins.

It pleased her to know that he was momentarily rattled, but he wouldn’t be for long. Any bewilderment that the Togruta felt would be quickly replaced by action and swift retribution. And she could feel his dark rage building like a swirling vortex on the horizon.

She hadn’t much time.

Setzi opened her mouth to protest, to firmly state that, yes I am interested in my daughters’s whereabouts. Where are they? Are they on Glee-

But when the muscular, darkside-ravaged Togruta flung off his robes, she nearly flinched as though he’d thrown a thermal detonator at her. The brunette padawan assumed there would be an altercation, but whether it would be emotional or physical and when, she hadn’t been sure.

Until now.

Setzi would no longer hold back the darkside, and she let it wash over her like a rushing, ink-black tide. She’d been suppressing it so long on Voss that her aura resembled a chemical experiment gone awry, but it hadn’t turned into a dangerous explosion… not yet. Is this the drawback to the Grey side, she thought? Not being able to control either Light or Dark? Would she be mediocre in both if that’s the path she chose?

With the sudden jolt of darkness within her, her body responded with a Force Scream so ear splitting, that at her banshee-like wail, small rocks fell from the cave ceiling and a hoard of bats came flying out of nearby crevice, flapping furiously by the both of them. As soon as she unclenched her fists, her spine snapped up straight again, and Setzi assumed her own Makashi stance as the lightsaber hilt flew into her hand. They’d gone through this choreography countless times. In the past, the denouement of their dance would end in bloodshed, tears and occasionally lust, only appeased by a violent outburst of lovemaking.

This time it may just end in death, Setzi.

“I’ve not forgotten about them,” she finally said, her voice raspy and hoarse from the scream. “But I told you once already. I need to know where the Xilsaga is." Her saber was not ignited yet, and the Blade of the Satvas was tucked away somewhere now, but no doubt she’d use it in stealth if required.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

The giggle was not what he had expected. If anything, it threw him more off. Was she not taking this seriously? Who was this person standing in front of him? He did not recognize her. Neither fully light nor dark, she was the madness found in between.

He had at first thought her lost to the dark, but any such thoughts were swept aside when he felt it rush over her. It was building up, nearing its release. Was she going to attack? In most of their previous engagements, he had felt in control. He knew when she was being goaded into attacking, or when her mind was softened up right before his attack. Now she was unpredictable.

The Force Scream caught him off guard. Though he threw up a quick barrier of the Force when the darkness had been building up within her, it was quickly made and held poorly against her banshee wailing. He lifted his arm in front of his face, as if to protect against the sound waves coming against him. The Togruta took a step back, legs bending slightly as if to better ground himself and gain a steady balance. Indeed, hell hath no fury... This was worse than when he had accidentally overwritten her favourite album with the recording of a particularly long interrogation.

The cave erupted into life and movement. Their battle had nearly begun. The bats had gotten the right idea, and fled the scene. Best find a new home. He could make no promises that this cave would still be standing by the end of the day. When Setzi assumed her Makashi stance, there really wasn't any going back. They were beyond the point of no return. It was time for him to make his move, and he had one weapon yet that he could throw at her.

She was still going on about the Xilsaga. It was puzzling to him. "Why is your tormented slave so important to you? If that's all you care about, I will tell you." the final sentence came in the form of a sneer. He was setting the stage for the next line he would utter. Pyrrhus would seek to firmly gain the upper hand and control the flow of battle once more. "You've changed. You've grown cold and heartless" he continued, dismissively. "The Azurea I knew would never have missed her own daughter's funeral" and there it was. The statement was filled with resentment towards her despicable act and betrayal towards their family. An illusion without the Force, for he suspected she had grown too familiar with those. He did not specify with a name, leaving her to wonder: was it Amata? Was it Astrid? Though she had never said any such thing, he suspected Astrid was her favourite.

He would let her wallow in the shock of it, leave her wondering about the when, how and who. But he would not allow her to process it for long. There was little time to assess the impact or level of success of his words. He didn't want to give her too much time, and have her land on the conclusion that he was bluffing. Whatever it turned into, he would seek to capitalize on it. The Sith Lord lunged towards her, lightsaber in hand. It roared to life, accompanying his already rust-red skin with an overlaying lava-red hue. The first strike came in the form of a diagonal slash from shoulder to hip, both powerful and wide. The cut resembled more the Djem So of his former master and fellow Voice, Darth Vornskr, than it did the Makashi he most frequently displayed.

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

The Azurea I knew would never have missed her own daughter's funeral

While she didn’t trust the statement, she had to at least consider it. She hadn’t seen Amata or Astrid since she’d last visited The Retreat. She had gone on yet another wild nuna chase for Chastity and now the Xilsaga. It was likely that yes, one of her daughters may have perished, especially if Darth Pyrrhus had taken the delicate child out onto the field to wage war with him.

Still, Setzi had always been susceptible to Dun Moch in its many forms. During the first time she faced the Togruta Lord on Ruusan, she’d all but crumbled to her knees when he taunted her. But the advantage of living with him, training under him, bearing his children meant that she knew him quite intimately, including those verbal attacks that he enjoyed throwing at her.

“I learned from the best,” Setzi said, grunting as she seamlessly parried his advance, her cerulean blue blade swinging from the ground upward. This was no Ruusan, nor was it the friendly, light-hearted sparring that went on spontaneously in the Voss courtyard. The dark-clad human needed to steady herself and concentrate like she’d never done before. She wasn’t going to show it, but by the Force, she was afraid. Setzi was facing her oldest nemesis, her one-time Master and probably her soulmate on some level. She may have been padawan in title, but in spirit she was a Sith Lord in her own right. But would she be enough to conquer Darth Pyrrhus.

Would she ever be enough under the direct gaze of his purple eyes?!?

She knew by his diagonal slash that a follow up move would most likely accompany it and quickly. Like a poisonous asp, Darth Pyrrhus could slither out of any saber block; she knew that from direct experience. Unless she used Force Rage to enhance her strength, she didn’t want to lock blades with him, because having him that close was extremely perilous. So as her blade reached upwards, knocking his back, she jumped up, propelled by the Force, and arched, attempting to flip backwards. Her feet hit the water of a cave pool behind her. And her landing wasn’t perfect as one foot skidded away from her, but she had put a few meters between them, and that would be good enough for now.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

The statement had not been as unsettling as he had expected. Perhaps she had grown accustomed to his deceptions, or perhaps she had become as heartless as his bluff had indicated. When she said she had learned from the best, all he could do was flash her a smirk that put his shiny white murderteeth on display. "Yes you have" he was not above accepting compliments like that when they were on offer.

The blade she had blocked with had not been red, however. Blue.Had she constructed a new one? She must have. A Jedi blade. In some way she reverted to her old ways, but she still clung to the darkness. It was as if his Azurea was trapped within darkness and light, torn by loyalties on both sides. Why had she chosen this path? Was it her choice or the inability to make one? Pyrrhus dealt in absolutes. Either you accepted the Dark Side absolutely, and freely drank in its power. All other alternatives led to weakness and unlocked potentials. All other alternatives were not Sith. Anything not Sith was on some level or other despicable, imperfect.

The sight of her blade was to him proof that her confusion and struggle lay not merely in her thoughts but also in her actions. She had made a new lightsaber, a physical representation of this new version of herself. It filled him to the brim with a burning hot fury that he could not contain. As she did her flip backwards to gain distance he unleashed it. A violent surge of the Force manifested in a powerful Force Push sent her way. Ideally, it would hit her before her feet managed to touch the ground, depriving her of the time to ground herself and brace for impact. He maintained the pressure even after their sabers had broken free of each other with a move that had the potential to send her crashing against the cave wall behind her.

"You created a new lightsaber?" he roared, his voice a reflection of his fury. "Who are you?" he demanded. He wanted to know who stood before him. Of course, he knew who, but what he was trying to get at was who and what did she identify as? The Sith? The Jedi? The fallen Jedi? A mysterious fourth option?