Private To Forge A Legacy

[Revna Marr]

Revna had done much thinking and consideration in regards to the newest “addition” to her growing power base; ever since she had gone into Varin Mortifer 's memories and had helped him understand the truth of what had really happened to him that fateful day when he had lost his entire family, the young Sith had seemingly bound himself to her - calling her master. Though she hadn’t rebuked him for referring to her as such - it had bothered her enough that she found herself wrestling with a choice that now faced her. Taking an apprentice was a heavy responsibility - one that she wasn’t sure she felt qualified for. (Did anyone ever feel qualified for such a task?)

But she felt the burden upon her shoulders to guide Varin into the ways of the Sith - to complete the training his Father had started with him before the boy ended up in her possession. She had experience, she had wisdom, and knowledge and insight gained from not one Master…but many.

Darth Strosius. Darth Arcanix. Darth Carnifex. Darth Prazutis. Darth Malum. Darth Caedes.

Even from the Sith Empress, Srina Talon, herself.

Revna had been like a sponge, soaking up everything she had learned from them all. And she had learned through other means as well, when she couldn't learn from a physical source - Sith tomes, holocrons, datacrons, and she had pushed herself to excel - to practice what she had learned…to gain not only an understanding, but to truly grasp all that she could.

She hadn’t mastered everything she had come to understand yet…but she was still growing and learning. But she knew enough to teach and guide another.

But having an apprentice was more than just having someone to teach and guide on the path to Sithdom. An apprentice was an heir to a legacy. Her legacy, that she was still building. The legacy of her late Master, gone before He could finish her training.

And even the legacy of the Pale Assassin herself. Try as He might, Darth Strosius could not cut out the influence His late Master had on Revna. If the young Sith woman decided to take on an apprentice, then they too would be an heir to Darth Ophidia’s legacy.

All these things, and more, raced through her mind as she debated back and forth on what she should do, and if she should accept Varin as her Apprentice. Another troublesome thought plagued her as well: the fact that she, technically, was still a Sith Apprentice herself. But even this now brought arguments up into her mind.

She was masterless. So, was she truly an Apprentice anymore?

Or was she just a Sith? Not an apprentice, but not a knight either. She rejected considering herself an acolyte - for in her own mind she was more than that. She was beyond that. But now she had to prove that she was. And she could prove that she was no longer an acolyte, by training someone herself.

And thus she returned to the decision at hand. Right now there was no one, and nothing, stopping her from accepting Varin as her true Apprentice - well, except for herself and her own fears.

Finally, one cold night while alone in her private quarters within the Palace, she came to her final decision on the matter.

The next day, Revna slipped away from Vardin and headed out into the red sands of the Golg Desert, letting the Force be her guide. She found the place she was looking for, and there she sent Varin a message for him to meet her at the coordinates she sent him, and bid him to come alone. And there she waited within the ruins of the Ashlan Jedi temple for the young Sith man to make his appearance. She knew he would come, for he never refused her summons.

But this time when he arrived, he would find himself seemingly...alone.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

It had been a few days since the memory reading happened between the young Sith and Lady Revna. After facing such trauma he had simply started to wall himself off a bit to protect the fresh mental wounds. He would meditate on the balcony now that he realised that he could set off the building's fire alarms while meditating inside. While acclimating to the cold air around him Varin sat in his sleep shorts taking in the discomfort. As he was finishing up his session his datapad buzzed. It was a set of coordinates from Lady Revna with a small message attached requesting him to meet her in the area.

Reading the summons Varin instantly got dressed in his loose fitting clothes and cloak, as he left his room he grabbed his sword and exited his dorm. Pulling his hood up he made his way out into the desert following the coordinates that were sent to him. As he realised how far from the city he was getting he was starting to think it may have been easier to steal a speeder, but then another thought intruded his mind.

What if she plans to kill you, there's only a couple of reasons a sith would drag their apprentice out into the middle of nowhere.

Varin shook his head at the thought.

Then I would die with my boots on and my blade ready.

Not too far away he could see the structure the coordinates pinpointed, it’s very damaged columns give way to a partially collapsed roof, the steps heading upwards are cracked, broken and worn, but still somewhat usable if you know where to step, the red sun bleeds through the cracks like bright gashes into the floor spilling over with darkened shadows.

Varin looked around at the outside of this temple not seeing his master and slowly made his ascent.

I don’t sense a force signature boy, be on your guard.

The young sith stopped at the entryway above the steps and peered inside clutching the hilt of his sheathed sword.

“....Master?...”

The word echoed across the haunting walls of cracks and time, statues of humanoids lay shattered and unrecognizable. The art, though beautiful, holds meaning to something that brings deep internal disgust. It caused Varin to sneer at the history the jedi have left on this sacred land. Like a scar forever etched on the surface of flesh.

Varin paused once more as if trying to listen and sense something, anything of his master. He was not nervous, but alert.

“Master?” Varin spoke with a little more volume in his voice as some of the dust that clung loosely on the ruined stonework drifted off the surfaces to the stoney ruined floor.

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer ​

Revna sensed Varin’s approach before she ever heard his voice echo through the dusty and silent ruins of the temple. He had come, just as she knew he would. At first, he called out to her from the outside of the temple, his voice echoing into the interior. She remained silent, watching and waiting with the patience of a hunter, as the young man stepped into the temple complex itself.

He was armed with his family’s Sith sword, from what she could tell. He rarely went anywhere without it. He was alert, his senses heightened no doubt, as he strained to find her. The raven haired Sith woman waited longer still, until he had entered further into the complex.

He called for her a second time, his voice loud enough to unsettle dust and sand that drifted to the silent floor and cast a haze through the various windows of light that were pouring in from the red star beyond Korriban’s atmosphere.

Revna moved then, though Varin would neither sense nor hear her - not immediately, anyway.

Not until she was on the same level as he was, standing a few feet behind him - between him and the entryway he had come in through, dressed in her typical dark robes with her hands hidden inside the sleeves and crossed in front of her. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper, though in the hollow space around them it echoed throughout the collapsed structure. It was a mimic of the lure of the dark side - a whisper that echoed when one found themselves alone and faced with the unknown.

“...you call me 'master', but do you truly know the weight behind such a title, Varin? Not for me, but for you?”

Once he turned to face her, he would see her familiar ember hued eyes upon him - sharp and keen, her pale and stony face set in an expression of judgment, as if she was weighing him and his worth. She continued to stare at him, waiting expectantly, and curiously, for a response.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

Varin remained patient as the quiet enveloped the room, some form of tension had him gripping the hilt of his blade waiting for something, anything to pounce.

Without warning he felt a slight presence behind him and then a voice. He quickly turned slightly unsheathing his blade before he processed Lady Revnas voice.

“...you call me 'master', but do you truly know the weight behind such a title, Varin? Not for me, but for you?”

Frustrated with himself and his unprepared self, he silently cursed himself in his head as he relaxed and sheathed his blade giving the sith woman a very straight forward look.

"I would be the byproduct of your teachings and doctrines as well as the teachings and doctrines of your master and their master before them. A culmination of your experience, theirs and mine."

He paused for a moment before speaking again.

"If I were to sully or fail that it would bring shame and dishonor to all of that. Words are empty so me promising that I won't fail cannot suffice. So the punishment for failure or blasphemy would be.....dire. To say the least. Likely I would mark the end of my family line, if I were to bring heresy to your name."

He looked into her eyes unwavering in his expression to show that he has laid bare what all he knows of apprenticeship, and it's consequences as the room fell quiet once more.

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer ​

Revna was unmoved when he unsheathed his sword upon hearing her voice, though her eyes seemed to glimmer like cold fire at the sight - not in anger at him pulling his blade on her, but because he had allowed himself to become surprised. One day, should he live that long, he would learn how to sense others hidden in the Force - and thus always have awareness of his surroundings so that no one could get the drop on him. She remained silent as he tried to answer her question, noting everything he said, and the way he met her gaze boldly, confidently, as he did his best to provide what she was looking for…though he had fallen short.

“At least you understand what it means to be an apprentice to a Sith. You are not incorrect in your statements on that front. However you have missed the reasoning behind why I asked you if you understood the significance of calling someone ‘master’.”

Revna stepped closer to the young man, glanced at him sidelong, before stepping around him to find herself in a sand covered circular area within the temple - what once was a meditation circle, a place where Jedi long past would no doubt come to connect to the Force and do whatever else they did in such places. She felt it would be a fitting place to do what she wished to do here.

“...to call a Sith ‘master’ means that you have surrendered power over yourself to another…for a time. You become…chained to them in an effort to gain their knowledge and wisdom, to grow in your own power, in all aspects…not just with the Force. That decision to be apprenticed is not the acolyte’s to make…but the Master’s.”

She took in a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. “I was an acolyte of my Master for over a year, serving alongside Him - doing everything I could to prove that I was worthy.” She glanced at Varin for a moment, her eyes almost glowing in the low light of the dusty ruins with their intensity. “But in the end, the decision wasn’t mine to make…but His.” Another brief pause, before she continued. “Just like it is my decision on whether or not to take you as my apprentice. It is a great responsibility…for me, and for you.”

Her voice was sharp, cutting like a blade, through the stillness as she let those words hang in the air between them. Once more she studied him, this time a bit more shrewdly - taking him in, and even wrapping her Force presence around him - poking and prodding at him. Testing him. Weighing him.

“Do you believe you have what it takes to be my apprentice, Varin?”

Did she believe she had what it took to be his Master?

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

Varin could feel the cold dark energy of the force around him in this dead temple of ruin. Taking in every word Lady Revna spoke, weighing it in his mind. These were the cold facts, if he gained a master then he could easily be a slave to their ambitions and their goals. His goals may even cease to exist. The mission could end before it even began. It's not something he would ever allow. However the reward of making it through his trials and promotions would grant him his own freedom with the added bonus of knowledge. He would be at Lady Revna’s mercy, perhaps there are much worse things than that. If he needed to continue his mission he would have to subject himself to Her will. For if it is her will then it must be done, for the good of his own cause.

The leather on his hilt groaned as he gripped it throughout his thought process. If he squeezed any tighter he would have made some new notches in the handle. Carefully he weighed his answer, was it worth losing his freedom and possibly his own mission? Knowledge is power, that is an inescapable fact, but what if you are a slave to that power? What if it owns you, bends you to its will? He growled to himself quietly, making his decision he finally looked her in the eyes as his also burned like an inferno.

“I have to be able to take it, whether I'm ready or not right now, life doesn’t give me that luxury of just simply finding out.” He took a deep breath as he slowly unsheathed his blade once more looking down its etchings and artwork along the flat.

“I will do what I must. I assure you I will be a blade that will not falter. I will be your tool to command, to sharpen and to hone. The most effective armor is one etched in battle, I have many battles I must see and fight in.”

Gently and slowly he ran his palm down the edge of his blade, slicing into his palm and letting the blood run down the edge to the stoney and sandy floors. As the blade slides into his flesh, slowly the wound would begin to cauterize itself, sealing itself shut.

“I am yours to command, if you would have me.”

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer​

A weighty silence fell between Revna and Varin and she waited with the patience of a hunter for him to respond. She wouldn’t rush this, for this was a significant moment between the two of them. She could see that he was thinking, his thoughts practically racing behind those warm brown eyes of his.

No doubt, he was weighing the consequences of saying yes or no to an apprenticeship. He was chewing on her cold and blunt words, the truth that he wouldn’t be in charge anymore. At least, not for a little while. It would all boil down to one question in his mind:

Was it worth it to him?

Varin seemed to reach a decision within himself, and when he lifted his eyes back to hers - she saw that they were burning. To anyone else, the sight would have been intimidating…but for Revna, the sight pleased her. He was full of grim determination, of raw power and energy that needed to be shaped and sharpened into the blade she knew he was meant to be.

“I have to be able to take it, whether I'm ready or not right now, life doesn’t give me that luxury of just simply finding out.”

He replied, before he began to unsheath his blade, not in a hostile gesture but as if the item was a focus for him. Revna watched as he gazed upon the flat of the beautiful weapon, before continuing further: “I will do what I must. I assure you I will be a blade that will not falter. I will be your tool to command, to sharpen and to hone. The most effective armor is one etched in battle, I have many battles I must see and fight in.”

I will do what I must… Varin’s words echoed within the confines of Revna’s calculating mind, and she was struck silent for a few heartbeats. How many times have I said that myself, in moments of trial and testing? Her expression seemed to grow distant, introspective, for a moment - long enough that Varin might have noticed it, if he were paying attention.

“Yes, you will.” she breathed, her voice edged like steel though it was barely above a whisper. Was it a threat? An expectation? Perhaps both - though it was hard to say for certain. Burning eyes watched as he ran his palm along the edge of the sword, drawing forth a line of crimson that dripped to the stone and sandy floor of temple, and as if in response the very dark presence and energy of Korriban seemed to deepen for a moment, the very shadows themselves darkening as a chill, colder than the winds of Korriba, seemed to rise up from the very sand itself and permeate the temple.

“I am yours to command, if you would have me.” Varin finished, as his wound seemed to burn itself shut, sealing the wound.

Once more, Revna gauged him. He was already willing to come under her will, her authority. Willing to follow her bidding, go where she directed him, do what she told him to. Even if it ran contrary to his own desires and will for himself.

Revna stepped a pace closer to the young man, her eyes intent upon his as she spoke once more - her voice level and calm, but held the weight of destiny within him. “Swear to me, in the presence of Bogan, that you will devote your life to mine, and that while you remain under my teaching, you will do whatever it is that I direct you to, and follow my guidance.” She paused, to give him space to respond, to repeat, before she continued. “And swear that I am your master and you my apprentice, from this moment onward - until either I release you, or you die.”

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Revna Marr

The air felt heavy, cold and quiet in this old disheveled relic of a temple. A jedi temple nonetheless, a fitting place to start the journey of a new apprentice. Varin looked at the blood droplets on the floor and down his blade.

“Swear to me, in the presence of Bogan, that you will devote your life to mine, and that while you remain under my teaching, you will do whatever it is that I direct you to, and follow my guidance.”

Varin looked at her with determination, a determination of himself and his future.

“I swear, under Bogan’s watch, on my family’s honor and on my honor as well, that I Varin will follow your leadership, mentorship, guidance and will to the letter. No matter the command. My life, My will; they are yours.”

Lady Revna continued to the next part of her pact.

“And swear that I am your master and you my apprentice, from this moment onward - until either I release you, or you die.”

The phrase made his grip tense on his hilt. Was this something he truly wanted? It didn’t matter if it was what he wanted or not. This is something he needed. Everything depended on his decisions. His home, his people and his whole planet was at stake.

Varins voice strained as if under tension.

“I swear, that until you give me my relief or until my death, that from this moment on you are My Master. Command me as you will, your will shall be done.”

As he finished his oath, he did something instinctively he had only done for one individual and one individual only. His father’s presence commanded respect and obedience. Part of that obedience was to kneel. Before he had realised what he was doing he was already holding the hilt of his blade in both hands with the blade pointed down towards the floor in a rested position, knelt on one knee, his head lowered in almost a praying state. The bow of a knight, a servant, a blade….a slave.

“Master…I have one single final request.” He looked up to her with a dark look in his eyes as he paused for her response.

“I wish to desecrate this temple further, to make it a personal training chamber for myself. A quiet place for my studies, meditation and training.”

 

[Revna Marr]

Varin Mortifer​

As Varin began to swear his oath to Revna, the very atmosphere of the ruined temple began to grow darker and colder - almost making her seem darker too, and her burning eyes glow brighter in the lengthening shadows. She was as still and silent as she had been previously, her presence in the Force undeniable. Though she showed no emotion or reaction, she took note of the fact that he embellished a bit more in his oath, and she memorized it all.

On the next portion, however, she noticed him tense - as if he was truly weighing the significance of what was transpiring between them. Revna waited with her near inexhaustible patience, feeling almost certain that he would press forward and complete his oath…and she was soon proven correct. His response was strained, but he spoke it nonetheless.

As he completed his oath, he did something that she both expected him to do, but also hated to see: he knelt. She almost barked at him in reprimand for the action, but she restrained herself, reminding herself that Varin had grown up differently than she had. His initial training had been done by someone else, his Father - who was as strict and authoritarian as a Master could be.

“Master…I have one single final request.” Varin said as he looked up to her from his lowered position. “I wish to desecrate this temple further, to make it a personal training chamber for myself. A quiet place for my studies, meditation and training.”

For the first time since her arrival, true amusement shined in her fiery eyes as a smile crossed her face. “Rise, my Disciple.” She said in her soft voice, bestowing upon him the same title that her Master had given to her what felt like a lifetime ago. She would wait for him to rise back up to his feet before continuing further.

“Unless I explicitly bid you to kneel, then I don’t wish to see you do so again - unless you want to, that is. A slave is expected to kneel…and you are not my slave; you are my student, my heir.” She paused to let him digest her words, as she circled around him in a slow fashion.

“A Sith should not bow - though there are exceptions to this. Our Emperor, for example. Like him or hate him, he is to be given the respect owed to someone of his stature, especially by an Apprentice.” she caught his gaze, making sure her words were heard and understood. “When you are a Lord and you can stand on your own merit, then you can decide to kneel or not to such a being. I do, if only to keep my head on my shoulders and not suffer the wrath of the Dead God. Being dead would put a dent into my plans and aspirations…” She knew that Empyrean didn’t really care for such actions, as any former slave hates the sight and motion of subservience, but he also demanded such from those he ruled over. She hated kneeling before him, but she understood the reason behind why it had to be done.

Revna stepped around Varin as she fell into a momentary silence, pulling her arms behind her back as she came to a standstill and looked up and around the temple that they were sheltered within, her back turned to him.

“You have my permission to further corrupt and desecrate this temple, Disciple. And any others you may find or come across upon the surface of Korriban. The remnants of the Jedi here need to be erased. This world belonged to the Sith, and it should remain so.”

She turned back to face him, then gestured at the sandy circular portion on the floor that they both were standing within. “Take a seat. Now that you are bound to me by oath, I think it is time I shared some hidden things about me with you. And I think it is fitting that you at least know about the Sith lineage you are now a part of, don’t you think?”