The Valkyries Ascend

[Kaalia Pavanos]

It was not often Kaalia took the initiative. She had always simply gone with whatever was put on her path and that had been fine, but this felt like her calling. The texts found in the abandoned temple on Selvaris, a backwater planet most people did not even know existed, had opened the woman's eyes to the past, an ancient order of Sith Ladies that sought out the worthy in battle to show them the truth of the Dark side. Now, thousands of years later, it was time breathe new life into it. With the Sith Brotherhood she fought to eclipse the Light and this would be how she would contribute.

But she wouldn't be able to do this alone.

It was for that reason she had called upon two people to join her today. A meeting where the foundations of a new order of Valkyries would be laid. Both were people she trusted, both in their ability and their allegiance to the Dark side. Those two things were what brought the Brotherhood as a whole together. This would be their claim to prominence within the Sith, Kaalia felt it. Her ambitious side was not a very common thing to come out, but it had done so now. And it did in full force.

The first of the two was Kaalia's new apprentice. [member="Sivora Raak"] had recently been brought into the Brotherhood and the woman had taken it upon herself to take her under her wing, and today she would grant her a great opportunity.

The second was someone she considered a friend and powerful ally. Three times over Kaalia had met with [member="Aria Vale"] by pure chance and now she had started to wonder if it was more than just coincidence. The first time was on Mindabaal in a cantina, then it was on Ankhypt, and finally on Panatha at the birth of the Sith Brotherhood. Having Aria at her side in this was something the redhead considered invaluable.

And so, at the entrance of that same ruined temple on Selvaris, Kaalia waited. Soon they would arrive and she would show them what she had found here herself.

[member="Darth Imperia"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria Vale had seen Orders rise and fall, seen friends become enemies and enemies become friends at the drop of a hat. She'd always been trusting by nature, but the years had seen that naivete lower steadily through pure understanding until despite maintaining her readiness to put faith in something, someone, she knew better than to dive in headfirst.

But when she'd received word from Kaalia Voldaren calling her to a meeting regarding the Sith, she'd been faster to consider loyalty than she had in a long, long time.

Kaalia, for one thing, was her friend. Those didn't come all that easily to Aria but when someone had earnt her trust they were hard pressed to lose it. For another thing, Aria had exceptional faith in Kaalia's strength as a Sith. The woman was intelligent and capable, powerful with the capacity to become infinitely more so - it didn't eliminate room for failure to Aria's mind, but Kaalia's strength certainly lowered the chances.

After some more exchange to confirm some details - Aria had invited Imperia along, and Kaalia had been perfectly eager for another face - Aria had left for Selvaris, keen to see what the latter Sith had found. Imperia in tow, they'd found their way to the ruined temple Kaalia had put down as the location with less trouble than she'd anticipated (trouble being Aria's lack of faith in her ability to land within any proximity to the temple at all). Kaalia was waiting by the entrance and Aria grinned just at the sight.

"Nice to see you again," she said in greeting as she neared, cheerful and completely sincere. "So, what've you found?"

| [member="Kaalia Voldaren"] | [member="Darth Imperia"] | [member="Sivora Raak"] |​

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia smiled back as Aria and who she assumed to be Darth Imperia approached, happy to see they had answered her invitation. Knowing she did perhaps not have to do this alone was a good foresight, but nothing was certain yet. Still, her trust in Aria had not been misplaced before and that trust was not going anywhere today.

The redhead kicked off her foot from the wall she was leaning on and nodded at both women. "The pleasure is mutual," she said with a similarly cheerful tone before turning towards Imperia. "I am Kaalia. Good to meet you." With that she ignited a flame in her hand and motioned to invite them inside the temple. "Let's not waste any time, then. What I have found is something I simply could not ignore." Once they went to move Kaalia would start taking the lead, bringing them further into the temple where a staircase was found. At the foot of it laid a stone she had placed there in her last visit and after picking it up she took a few steps back. "Keep your distance, that entire thing is about to come crashing down." With that she lobbed the stone onto the staircase. It rolled down one step before the room started to rumble and as warned the steps fell down an incredible distance, killing anyone that would've stood on it. "I have yet to find a way up, but what is down there is more than interesting enough."

With another motion Kaalia once again called Aria and Imperia to follow her, using the staircase that now led down. Once they made it down they entered a narrow corridor, the light from the woman's flame that bounced off of the walls revealing old carvings all across them. Winged beings with eyes that were red and sulphur standing out perhaps even more than the wings. They sat upon thrones, stood tall over lifeless bodies, but also lifted people off the ground, as though they empowered them. At the end of the corridor was a chamber supported by four pillars. Unlit torched were hanging from each and with her flame she lit them, freeing her hand once more. Here too were the walls decorated, but with old Sith texts. The wall directly in front of the entrance of the chamber had a stone tablet with more texts carved into it as long as the wall itself seemingly indented into it. "These texts speak of an ancient Sith order. A band of sisters who sought out the worthy on the battlefield and showed them the Dark side. The weak were instead culled."

[member="Aria Vale"] | [member="Darth Imperia"]