Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Private The Unforgiven


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The pieces had been coming back. Bit by bit, her seething hate was tempering under the control and refusal she held to be controlled. It was a powerful emotion, as Taeli Raaf Taeli Raaf had taught her, when controlled. But she needed to piece the fractured parts of her history together further. Find the blank spots that made her head spin as the parts of her soul throbbed with the scars of her resurrection. It was frustrating. Infuriating. Limiting. There was only so much she could move forward to while her mind continued to keep her locked in the past.

It was why she was here. Formos Cathedral. She stared up at the doors from under her hood, her blackened eyes narrowed. The memories were there. Flashes of combat. Of the hate and frustration she felt as she charged through. And yet, she didn't even remember why she'd come here. Why she was fighting. Why she had died. She mingled with the others here. Sorcery had become something of a necessity. A simple spell, one to hide her aura, who she was so she could blend among the masses.

She'd attend the sermon. Listen to what was said. Perhaps through it she might start to at least remember why she'd died.

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
The long days of the Ouroboros Crisis had brought much change to Formos, even when it was so far removed from the conflict and from Sith space in general. While the forces of the Order of Wonosa hadn't been on the frontlines of the battles and skirmishes, they hadn't been idle either. They had raided old supply caches, struck out against distant and lone outposts, secured vital yet narrow lines of transit, all under the orders of their High Priest and his careful maneuvering.

The dust was still settling on the Crisis but Darth Strosius had left Sith space for the time being regardless. There were capable hands that he could entrust the matters of the Tsis'Kaar remnants to, but his cult? They required his personal time and attention. Not that he minded of course, it was by his design after all.

"Brothers and sisters." The masked man called out to the crowd assembled in the cathedral as he stood at the altar, his hidden gaze running over his followers and idly noting how occupied the pews were. More had gathered than usual, it seemed he really was missed after all. "The fires of war have yet to be fully doused by the corpse 'emperor' and his servants. Much of the Sith Order is still wrapped in the throes of the Crisis, regardless of what they would pretend."

He gestured with his hands as he spoke, grand sweeping gestures that clearly did the job in helping enunciate his words if his cultist's reactions were anything to go by. "The Pale Serpent has fallen and her nest has yet to be fully unearthed. You have all served the Dark Side well in these past few weeks, ensuring our future as the Tsis'Kaar have written their demise." One of his hands closed into a fist and for a moment it seemed as though the candles illuminating the cathedral flickered in response.

"While Empyrean and his followers tear apart the Tsis'Kaar's limping remnants, while they believe themselves to be safe and secure, while they sleep without fear of a blade in the dark, we will prepare to do what they could not." His fist slammed down on the altar suddenly as his voice rose with a burning passion. "Liberation awaits my brothers and sisters! The unshackling of the Sith Order has begun with the death of Darth Ophidia! Let no doubt cloud your minds, let no hesitation settle in your hearts, we stand closer to the end of these years of heresy and disgrace than ever before!"

A few of the priests and cultists uttered their agreements to themselves, a small and quiet wave of 'Wonosa' echoing throughout the crowd before Darth Strosius continued. "Soon the last of the Tsis'Kaar will either join in our march to victory, or fall by our blades like all the rest! Once the Pale Assassin's final servants have been erased, our work towards Wonosa can truly begin!" His arms spread out wide as the crowd began cheering for their High Priest, with the masked man offering a small bow of his head before striding off of the altar's podium and making his way towards the stairs leading up into the cathedral, idly brushing off the occasional priest with a nod and a small wave.

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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He was different than her memories.

She sat in the midst of the gathering, quiet and observing. Her memories, fractured as they were, didn't have this side of him within it. The leader of a cult, the worshiper of the dark. Strong and confident. But the death of his master? Was that why Quinn Varanin Quinn Varanin and her had to leave that world? The void he made, did he make it to secure his master's death? That was the rumor anyway.

The people around her worshipped him. She could see the hope on their faces. The relief at the news that the Snake was dead and the plan was going forward. Empyrean would likely be none to pleased to know the details of this sermon, but that's not why she was here. She slipped through the crowd, making her way from the reverence to follow him up the stairs. Towards wherever his destination was. He was a celebrity here, wasn't he?

She still wasn't sure what to make of it.

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
Separating himself from the throng of the now mingling and exiting cultists, the masked man made his way up the stairs and emerged into the meeting room. He idly ran a hand along the headrest of one of the chairs as he passed it before suddenly stopping and clutching it as his other hand moved to press against his forehead.

"They're loyal to the vision. To the Sith. They're not like you." He hissed under his breath as he willed away the unwelcome sight of a familiar hooded figure just outside of his periphery.

Darth Strosius shook his head and steadied himself, glad that he had made it out of sight of his cult before her words got to him again. "They're able to do what must be done, I made sure of that." With one final sigh he cast aside the familiar specter from his mind for now and had to briefly lean against the stone meeting table for support.

Well there went any notions that a Taozin Amulet would ward her off. Back to the drawing board.

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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Her eyes narrowed. He'd know she was there, but did nothing about it? Her fist tightened, just a little. He killed her, but he spoke to her this way? She didn't lash out, to her credit. More listened to him before she stepped into the room. Reached up to close the door behind her. If there were others below that would come to intervene, she knew she'd kill them without any hesitation. And she wasn't here to kill them.

Not yet, at least.

"Justifying yourself for what you did, are you?"

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
The sudden voice caused him to jump and wheel around to face his pursuer, one of his hands twitching to reach for where his weapons were stored on his belt. Darth Strosius paused his grabbing for his blades as his gaze landed upon a very familiar yet very unexpected face however. His masked gaze narrowed in confusion, but then his head cocked to the side as the tension slowly began to leave his shoulders.

"Aliris? Where the feth did you come from?" He looked the Tremiru, although not the one he thought, up and down for a moment. "My apologies I was...talking to myself...anyway how have you been?"

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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"Aliris?"

Alina perked a brow right up. Was he mad? Or- Ah. Another Tremiru was her guess. That was a problem she'd have to figure out. But right now she stepped forward. She reached for her own saber, taking the heavier weapon in hand. Not to ignite it, but just to have that threat there. She was still angry, much more now that he seemed to think she was someone else, but she needed answers. Real answers.

"Do you honestly think I'm anyone but me? You killed me, Ali. And I need to know why."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
There was a pause, a hesitation, as he looked her up and down once more. His gaze narrowed and the tension in his shoulders returned as one of his hands began to twitch. Finally though realization swept across his being and he couldn't help but laugh to himself. "Ah, I see now." He spoke as his laughter settled into a hollow chuckle and he shook his head.

"My master's visage couldn't torment me so you decided to don a face that actually fills me with remorse? Clever." It was odd though, Darth Strosius could have sworn he had banished her presence from his mind for now. "A good ruse but Alina Tremiru haunts my dreaming hours, not my waking ones." With a dismissive wave he turned away from the 'illusion' and began his stride once more.

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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Alina raised a hand then. The Force cracked under her focus, her fury. He was disregarding her as an illusion? A trick of his master? She brought that grip on his damned mask, to force him to look at her. Maybe even just rip the stupid thing off. She was trying her best not to give in to her rage. That's what her Master had been trying to teach her. But this was too much. "You fucking killed me. Look at me. I can't even think straight anymore. Everything is a mess. What I do remember starts and ends with you. So you will tell me why you killed me, and I will decide if I'll return the favor or not, Ali."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
His stride paused, or more accurately was forced to a halt, as he felt a rather harsh grasp on his mask yank his attention back to the 'illusion' as he sensed a very familiar presence in the Force. "No..." Darth Strosius couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible. She was dead. It couldn't actually be her could it? He stumbled back and felt his heart stop for a few beats as he tried to catch his breath.

"A...Alina?" Alisteri asked as though he needed any more confirmation of her existence. His hopeful and shocked tone was quickly replaced though as he realized what she had said, she evidently wasn't in the mood for a happy reunion. "You tried to kill me!" He had to reel himself in, his emotions a whirlwind of confusion and relief. "You barged into my cathedral and the next thing I know you were swinging at me with your sword! I...I didn't mean to...it..." His passionate voice trailed off as he backed away, his hands shaking alongside his voice. "I didn't mean to kill you Alina...I-I just struck the wrong place...I'm sorry..."

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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The images replayed in her head. The fight, the absolute drunken power she felt. There were bits and pieces, but to think she was in fact the one who'd struck first was.. Well, that made sense. Honestly, even if she couldn't remember it was very much something she'd do. And yet, watching him panic like this was.. Infuriating. "So I tried to kill you and you apologize?" So that's where her hate came from.

"You're cowering. Why are you cowering? You just killed your own Master, you killed me, and now you're cowering?" The Force rippled around her. Untamed, uncontrolled. Objects lifted and distorted, twisting and breaking all around them before she took a deep, needless breath. The objects clattered to the ground as she narrowed her eyes. She wasn't slave to her emotions, not any longer.

"You were supposed to be the one to overthrow the old like we both wanted! You even struck down one of them, finally, but this is all you amount to? Guilt? I don't remember you being so pathetic. Though, I guess I don't remember much at all."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
"It was a misunderstanding!" One that had gotten one of them killed admittedly, or so it had seemed anyway, but still. "And let's not forget the fact that you died." When he noticed how the Force was reacting to Alina he paused and simply felt for a few moments. She had gained a greater strength and control within it than she had before, a realization that made Alisteri silently curse. Evidently death itself couldn't even fix their power gap.

He felt one of his trembling hands slowly clench into a fist as she continued and all but berated him, his wide eyed stare shifting to a glare. Frustration slipped in to replace relief and joy, his hesitation slowly melting away. "Pathetic? Pathetic!?" Where Alina had stilled herself and her emotions, Alisteri let his begin to slip. "Do you have any fething idea what's happening to me Alina?!? What has happened to me?"

He gestured towards her as any last bits of his excitement to see her faded into a very cathartic anger. "I killed you. I killed my master! My master haunts my waking hours, taunting me with whispers and memories not my own! Your ghost torments my sleep, robbing me of any rest but meditation as I replay the last moments of your life. Whenever I see my cathedral all I can remember is your damn blood staining it!"

He slammed a fist into the stone meeting table, leaving a small crack on it as he pulled his hand back to press against his chest. "And now you show up, somehow returned to life, and you have the audacity to call me pathetic for mourning you?! You were my friend! You were all I had!" A hissed breath wormed its way through his mask as he shook his head and looked at his hands, now shaking with rage instead of remorse. "But you never cared, did you?"

He slowly looked back up at her, his fiery yellow gaze seeming to burn through his mask's visor. "In life and death both you abandoned me! And now you come back from the grave just to torment me!"

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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"I abandoned you? I never cared?" Now he yelled at her? Now he finally decided to stand up for himself? The more rage he felt, the more he spoke, the more she remembered. The more she felt herself wanting to just rage. The more she just wanted to devolve to who she was. "I came back because Quinn brought me back. She ripped open hell to get me from that dreaded place. If you truly want to sit there feeling guilt, did you even attempt to bring me back?"

She wouldn't know if he had. How could she, while she was trapped there.

"I'm not here to torment you. I'm just here to figure out what happened. It.. Cost more than I imagined to come back. But this? All this guilt and self punishment? I tried to kill you. You're Sith. It's only natural to kill those who try to hurt you. To kill your Master. Why are you so frustratingly-" She grumbled, closed her eyes.

"I'm not going to kill you." She announced it, more for herself than anything else. "But what the hell do you even want to do with your life? Do you have no aspirations? Do you just exist to live in pity? Who are you, Ali?"

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
The name 'Quinn' made him pause for a few precious moments, rolling it around in his head. Quinn had been the one that Alina had went to when the Sith Empire collapsed, when he thought that she had died in the wars that ripped the empire apart. But she had been alive and well, and evidently this Quinn was able to rip Alina from the claws of death as well. Able to do what he could not. Something deep within him flared hot, perhaps a jealousy of one form or another, but Alisteri cast it aside as his frustrations at her accusation rose up instead.

"Of course I did! You don't think that was the first thing that I tried?!" He huffed and pointed an accusatory finger at her. "That fething Oracle creature you loaned to me, my holocrons, scrolls, I looked everywhere! But that Oracle only said that I couldn't! That I 'wasn't capable of that yet' and refused to tell me a solution!" Another pause as he seethed, remembering what solution the creature had offered instead. A very sobering memory that caused him to recoil slightly. "It gave me a way to get stronger...but not enough to bring you back. So I retired it."

His anger died down as regret seeped back into form at the memory of Alina's body at his mercy. Of the ritual and the transformation that he had gained from it. Even with her standing before him now, a part of him still regretted it. "You're asking about me?" He scoffed and shook his head, choosing to sit down in one of the chairs surrounding the meeting table. "You come back from the dead, march all the way here to my little corner of Formos to confront me, and now you're asking about me?"

Alisteri sighed and sat back in his chair, his hands folded together as he shrugged and offered her an answer. "You know very well who I am Alina. I have nothing but aspirations. I have already taken the first step to my goal, to the liberation of the Sith from our enemies." He idly gestured around as though referring to some grand display that only he could see. "Years of planning and work all to kill one Sith. I'd say I've earned a few moments of pity and rest after all that time and work, given that my biggest failure and regret is currently standing right in front of me."

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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So that's how it was. She wasn't too surprised the Oracle refused to tell him how to bring her back. Those damned things were ever vindictive when they could afford to be. She wanted to argue more. Despise him for all his self pity as he let himself be tormented by his actions. She couldn't, though. He was right. She'd been dead and gone for years, and in that time he'd built up his trap and successfully killed his own Master. Killed one of the Sith they'd both been gunning to bring down so the Sith might be free of the shackles of the past.

And she'd done nothing to help.

"Stop using me as a reason for your self loathing. You killed me because I tried to kill you. It's more of a reason than we've had for all the others we've killed." She reached up, rubbed at her brow. He still would. She remembered that much of him. Perhaps it'd be for the best. "Or at least use it for something productive. I don't care what."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
Alisteri clicked his tongue at her remarks but offered no real response to them, they were meant to be something for him to learn from after all. After so long dead and coming back with what were apparently incomplete memories she could still lecture him, the thought almost made him smile. Almost. "Speaking of productive," He gestured for her to take a seat but didn't pause too long to wait for her to do so.

"You're alive again. I'm tempted to ask how such a thing is even possible but I doubt the answer will do anything more than infuriate me." He had already poured over enough scrolls and listened to enough half-baked rhyming to know that it was beyond his means even now. "What exactly have you done with your new life? I can tell I'm far from your first visit, you've had more training in the Force." That much he had noticed, although whether such was the result of instruction or personal training was unclear. "And what are your plans for the future?"

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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She did sit, surprisingly. Rage and violence just wasn't how she wanted to live her life anymore. Not when people could still be of use. And not when her death was her own fault. "It's not something I could see you being capable of. Nor myself, for that matter." Or anyone else. And she certainly wasn't going to go into detail for it. "I own Dromund Kaas and have set up the Academy there to focus instead on Alchemy and Sorcery. As well as visited my master to continue my lessons, as you've already mentioned."

Control was the first she'd been taught. Control, and accepting everything. A delicate balance, but one every Sith should learn.

"They're the same as before. Topple the leaders that keep us chained. The Worm, Lord Carnifex. They still control everything. But I'm not going to stubbornly refuse to take advantage of whatever I can from them. Not anymore."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
"Duly noted." At the very least he didn't have to worry about Alina being able to cheat death of her own accord then, one thing that they would be equal in then. Alisteri's head cocked to the side at the, what he perceived as, casual mentioning of her owning Dromund Kaas but she continued before he could question it. The mention of her master made him wince as he idly recalled the rather hostile state of affairs between them when they last met, but he chose not to bring that up for his own sake.

After her declaration he was silent for a few long moments as he dissected exactly what she said, his gaze narrowing in suspicion and calculation. "Alina..." He began cautiously, unsure of how exactly to word his next remark so that it wouldn't earn him any more of her ire. "Please do not tell me that you voluntarily put yourself under the yoke of Carnifex of all people just to acquire Dromund Kaas?"

At his own uttering of the tyrant's name a very familiar voice whispered two others in the back of his mind that were more foreign to him. Kaine. Vornskr. His teeth ground together as he banished the specter from his thoughts once more before it could cloud his hearing and subject him to more distant and unknown memories.

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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"If you are asking if I've become a Kainite, I have not. I pay tithe to Lord Carnifex, but the world is mine to run how I see fit. Little by little I will erode his presence in the people's minds until the world is mine and solely mine. But I am not under any illusion that the common folk will care to betray him at the current moment." Her eyes narrowed. She knew his mindset. It was her own, for so long. And part of why she'd ended up dead from what she could remember.

Pride, pure and simple.

"My Master and Lord Carnifex are old colleges. I would be remise not to make use of that bond."

Darth Strosius Darth Strosius
 
Prophet of Bogan
Darth Strosius uttered a hiss in reaction as she spoke, tension becoming visible in the way that his hands clutched one another as though they were holding back themselves from lashing out. "He is no Lord." He spat the words like he had been personally insulted by the simple title. "He is a stain! A blight. A cancer. One that we must carve out the moment that we are able."

He had his chance a good while ago now, back during the Kainite Civil War, but he had failed then. He didn't intend to do so the next time. "To subject yourself to his will in any way is foolish Alina! The moment he suspects you plotting behind his back he'll raze Dromund Kaas to the ground and give the husk to some other Sith. And if your master is aligned with him then..." Alisteri hesitated as he thought back to Krayiss Two, when Lady Raaf had literally torn her way into what was meant to be a sacred and secure library without much issue. "...she'll need to be dealt with as well."

Alina Tremiru Alina Tremiru
 

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