First Reply When the Abyss Stares Back (First Come, anyone welcome)

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Vardos
OBJECTIVE: to eat
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Heart of Syn | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Darth Grimm​

"Perfection, hmm..." The late reaction came after carefully and calmly listening to the skeletal figure's dissection of the force, their personal beliefs and views on everything related to it, his eyes maintained a strange neutrality even when being faced with the reality of his companion's physical decay being shown. A few times, the Lord of Hunger visibly winced, as if refraining from lashing out with a tirade of counter arguments and visionary differentiations. There was after all, no need for it...still, the fact he winced showed he really, really had issues with some of the remarks and theories brought forth by this newfound companion. "As one who likes to tinker and discover new things, I abhore the very notion of perfection."

Motioning with his left hand towards the rows of containment tubes, the Lord of Hunger let out a soft chuckle. "Mind you, I understand the allure of perfection, the flawed perception and idea on it. However, the only perfection which by its nature is remotely interesting is the perfect imperfection. When an organism is capable of thought and understanding, they need to understand their own imperfections and rather than washing away said imperfections, learn to live with it, improve upon it and evolve beyond it. Without imperfections there is no evolution, without evolution there is no growth..."

Allowing the words to sink in, Credius paused for a moment, keeping silent just long enough for his guest to understand the meaning in those words, to understand what the Lord of Hunger stood for and what he desired above all: Evolution. "Perfection bars any progress, it bars any growth or expansion, thus perfection in itself is stagnation and decay rather than evolution and progress. To dominate the force, the living force, the dead force and everything in between... is to initiate an everlasting arms race, and only by maintaining progress, evolution, growth... by continuously staying ahead, you maintain dominance and avoid stagnation."

Suddenly standing still in front of a containment tube which has been sealed off with a thick layer of Ersteel SLCA plating, the Lord of Hunger moved over towards a small panel next to the tube, putting his hand on the holowall screen and allowing the scanning process to begin gathering the necessary parameters. With a beep, the scanning ended and the thick, layered sealing around the containment tube clicked and hissed before sliding open, revealing a beast unlike any other in the galaxy, an amalgamation of DNA strands, a combination of various samples labgrown into a massive monstrosity. "We make the first move, ALWAYS. As long as those who have started the game have moves left to make, the Force itself will continuously respond in kind. You think your ailments and your decay are in any way frightening... you must revisit that notion, for I too have and still suffer the decomposition of my body without the continuous sustenance...however, that is exactly why evolution is key to my plans."

Raising a hand, a slithering black, oily tendril reached out of the Lord of Hunger's left sleeve, flicking gently from side to side. "An accursed creation of the Galactic Empire, mutated and grown into a parasite by my own miscalculations... yet nonetheless it bonded with me, it granted me insight into a whole host of applications for it, it gave me a means to transcend the limitations of humanity, of the very force itself. That soul gem of yours does not necessarily hate what's inside me, it simply understands that whatever I have become... is beyond even the imagination of those who some dare to consider gods in this day and age."

It recognizes who the true monster is​

 

[Darth Grimm]

"Ah! You missundersstand me, ass we are truly of the ssame mind," but Grimm did not seem bothered by the fact, in truth, he seemed a bit more cheerful, "True perfection is as you described - it iss adaptability." He raised a slender, emaciated finger. "Creaturess have a limit to how far they can adapt. Turn a jungle world into a ball of ice, and some will survive. Remarkably, many of them will. They will grow thick hidess and find food in unconventional placess..." He explained, "...but melt the ice, grow back their jungless... and they will die out. They will not be able to sstand the rapid changess. They will die." He added. "You do not misstake me for a ssimpleton, my Lord," said Grimm in appreciation. "You are more astute than otherss..." His hand fell, and clutched to his staff.

He leaned in, his mechanical eyes whirring and changing their color to a violet - changing his observation to an ultraviolet wavelength as they scanned the being locked in the sealed tube. It was a man-shaped monster, eyeless or at least with a bony plate protecting it's sensory organs, a bristling collection of spiky dangerous-looking tendrils and claws, but Grimm was a biologist by trade. His studies on life had been a crux of both the Jedi and the Sith empire at the time. This was a creature adapted to facing larger enemies. The spines and thorns were an adaptation for defending against being swallowed by bigger beasts, of which the Galaxy had plenty. It's predatory features were it's teeth and claws. If one could see it's eyes, they would probably be forward-facing with a peripheral vision.

Humans had forward-facing eyes, but also had a peripheral vision, a combination that was more for those who hunted and were also hunters. Adaptable. Many eyed-creatures were also common enough in the Galaxy. They were purely defensive, sacrificing brain-power for the ability to track multiple predators. Yes, Grimm knew his business, but he couldn't help but exhale the word "Fascinating..." as he beheld the Imperial experiment. Though crude and often building off limited experimentation, the Empire was admirably a scientific organization, built to solve the problems of a Sith obsessed with immortality. A machine that powerful was destined to achieve it's goals, but always, inevitably, the Force would create a foil for them that would collapse all of advanced civilization. Rinse. Repeat.

Grimm turned to Credius and observed the tendrils of meat slithering about in demonstration. "Undeniably usseful," he agreed. Shockingly. Grimm was not exactly a 'people person,' but the more he got to know the Lord of Hunger, the more he agreed with him. It was honestly disconcerting to the ancient Sith. "Ah, yess... it is time to unpack your giftss..." He raised his hand and turned towards where the Oubliette rested. All at once he flicked his wrist and splayed his fingers, and the casket rose gently from where it rested.

He drew the casket towards them and lay it at their feet. He circled it and placed his corpse-like hand upon the smooth surface, and with a CHUNK sound, it opened, sliding the main surface away, and revealing it's contents. Some were old tomes, which Grimm tossed out, where they landed with uncerimonious clouds of dust. A few holocrons, he threw aside, and a Sith Sword which he casually tossed with the rest, where it clattered loudly on the hard floor.

First he grabbed a series of datacrons, which should have been less valuable than the holocrons, but he explained; "These contain the formulas that the Ancient Ssith used to create the Masassi warriors, and the Ssith Sspawn that nearly wiped out the Jedi, as well as star chartss which exposse the locationss of dead Ssith worldss." He placed those back inside the Oubliette, then retrieved the egg. Purple, large. He gently stared at it, his mechanical eyes fully capable of seeing the creature nested within. He placed it back, and then reached back inside. His hands created a chiming sound as vials of substances clattered with one another. The vials were of blood. Containing the genetic material of the strongest Force Users in the Galaxy.

"Thesse were sstolen from the Jedi Temple in the High Republic era, the sstrongest Force ussers in the Galaxy..." But he shoved them aside and drew a triplet of vials. "Thesse contain the lasst known blood ssamples of King Adas. Xendor wanted them desstroyed, but insstead they were sstolen and hidden away." Finally he reached for the last datacron and deftly activated it. It contained a hologram of a planet, but did not include the coordinates. Grimm himself had already destroyed the datacron with that information when he recovered the Oubliette, but this would provide a taste of what he contained yet in his memory. The planet rotated. "Thisss..." he said in reverence, "Iss the culmination of the Ssith Lord Grimm's entire sstudiess."

He turned to Credius and held the datacron before him. It was a planet with multiple shifting climate zones due to the triple-sun system it inhabited. As it zoomed out, the datacron showed a binary yellow sun/red dwarf system with a series of planets, including gas giants and ice giants in the outer solar system. Those were oddly much smaller than typical, and indicated that the rockier inner planets would suffer slightly more from asteroid bombardment. The third sun was a pulsar that was incredibly dense, and the entire solar system revolved around it.

The paths of the planets also were subject to shifting through their orbital zones, which made their seasons incredibly extreme.

"He created thiss world to tesst the Sithss greatest biological creationss. Though some Ssith merely ssaw the creaturess they created as disspossable ssoldierss, Grimm gave them an ecossysstem to thrive upon, and sseeded them with nearly every sspeciess of intelligent creature in the Galaxy, to sspeed up their evolution." He zoomed the cube back into the planet. "It hass been almost thirty-thoussand yearss since he made thiss place. There are three optionss. This planet may be extinct of life, they may have been disscovered and joined the greater Galactic population, or... thiss planet may housse the most adaptable sspecies the Galaxy hass ever sseen. A whole planet of invassive sspecies that could overwhelm any natural population, forged through the most extreme conditionss that life may posssibly ssurvive... Every creature the Ssith ever created, pluss some that Grimm himsself made live here, along with every known sspecies of intelligent creature in the Galaxy. It iss a treassure of unbelievable value."

Then he offered the egg and the datacron to Credius. Just then, his eyes shifted to red, and the seams of the orbs became visible. All at once a cloud of steam expelled from them... a strangely antiquated exhaust system, but genius nonetheless. His eyes returned to their cold crimson glow, and turned back to the Lord of Hunger.

​

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Vardos
OBJECTIVE: to eat
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Heart of Syn | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Darth Grimm​

The Lord of Hunger began to slowly wonder if the one standing before him and the one called Grimm weren't really the same person, yet he kept this sentiment to himself, simply smiling and nodding along as he listened and watched the strangely animated fervor the skeletal being displayed when describing the ways in which the ancient jedi had manufactured not just their own species, but a world on which they could allow their creations and those of others to adapt, evolve and dominate in due time. Clearly, considering there was mention of the standard baseline species used by the Sith; the Masassi, Credius knew the one before him had no idea on who was called the mother of monsters; Taeli Raaf .

if they did, they'd know why the Lord of Hunger didn't utilize them. The Masassi, most, if not almost all of them in this current day and age could trace their lines not to the old members of their race, but to the lineages bred and raised by Darth Arcanix, who in this way was perhaps more in control over the Masassi than any sith had been in the entirety of their history.

To avoid this, Credius' experiments are based on forced evolution of all species, but not through just sith sorcery or adjusting some external parameters, but by introducing the mutative capacity of the very strain of blackwing held within him. His most priced possession though, had managed to escape and with it, this experiment had taken the most potent and most dangerous means of evolutionary enforcement with them.

Still, the thought of finding this planet to test his own creations was tempting, even if it had to be against ancient creations which had either died out or more likely evolved themselves, the possibilities were quite...interesting.

"So many gifts, so many things you present to me..." The Lord of Hunger's eyes started to shimmer, his lips only barely curling into a stiff and faint smile. "... I wonder, this can't be just out of gratitude for simply getting you off of the planet. You have a plan, a means to get something you want, but just some simple travel arrangements aren't what you need, what you need..."

As it seemed to dawn on him, the Lord of Hunger began to chuckle, before suddenly bursting out in full on laughter. "I don't care wether or not you ARE or aren't Lord Grimm, but I certainly understand that your fascination has taken root within yourself. If you aren't him, you desire to become him and if you are him, you simply desire to reclaim your might, rejuvinate once again to proclaim yourself. it's an easy guess... but to get access to all you need, you needed to get off of the planet..."

Holding a hand against his forehead, still chuckling and smiling twistedly, the Lord of Hunger settled down with a long, even exhale. "No matter... this is all interesting enough, hand the star charts to this location to the droids, as for the supposed samples remaining of Darth Grimm perhaps we might be able to assist you in that as well... we have the means to create a new body, and I would love to see exactly what this ancient sith's true purpose would be when they'd have regained all that they are."

 

[Darth Grimm]

​

"Gratitude... plan... proclaim..." he repeated in a mutter as if it were automatic for him to do so. "...Time..." He lingered on the last word and lifted his head, "No," he disagreed, "No time for that. The Living Force plots against me, and if you undersstand my dessires, then the Force plots against you as well. It will send Jedi, Ssith, and all the sstarships it can muster against our dessigns, for the Living Force allows for no one'ss planss but it'ss own. That iss why it allowss us to see the future," If Grimm's face were capable of expression, it would be a mix of trepidation and rage. He truly believed that the Living Force was the enemy. "It hearss our wordss and thoughtss through the interconnectednesss of the life within usss. Our own blood sssings our intentions to it, and it sspeaks it back to uss" he shook his head and clutched his staff. All at once the power that flickered within him diminished to little but a spark. Soon he was rattled by a hacking, shuddering cough that persisted for a long while and his lungs struggled against.

Grimm struggled against his own weakness, and managed to speak again, "Power drawss it'ss attention. The sstronger you are, the more it knowss about you." He clearly had no intention of addressing the question of whether he was Darth Grimm or not, but in that was itself an admission. "I intend to go to Ni'Jedha, I intend to destroy the ones that the ancientss called 'Whills' and retake the Force so that we are it'sss masssters... rather than it'ss slavesss." He turned to face the one called The Lord of Hunger suddenly, a creaking sound of bone and cartilage providing a nasty transition that further illustrated his poor health. "Thiss body... weak as it iss providess me sshelter." He reached up a bony finger and tapped his own forehead. His next words sounded even more insane than his last. "The Force cannot find what it cannot ssee."

Then he turned back to the beast inside the tube. Staring down at it. "Until the Whill iss killed, we sshall only be as free as this beasst." He stared for a long while at the slavering beast as it observed them back. As it paced it's lonely cell. "Those 'gifts' you ssee are usselesss. To you, and to me." He admitted while he waved his free hand absently. "You know your hisstory. Assk yoursself; Why do the Jedi alwayss defeat the Dark Sside? Why do the Jedi always defeat the Ssith? Only for them to risse again and do battle once more? Can you name one Ssith aside from Adas who lived a full life? Can you name a Jedi who hass? What did they have in common, thosse who did? Yess... they sstayed out of the way... did their manipulationss from the sshadows. They hid where the Force wass sstrongest. Dagobah, Korriban, Tython..."

"ANSWER me!" Grimm suddenly turned towards his companion in a sudden burst of anger that made his whole body shake, as he jabbed a bony finger towards The Lord of Hunger , then all at once he calmed and slumped against his staff. "Once thiss iss done, then we may truly mold the galaxy as we ssee fit." Grimm managed to finish the last part weakly, his breathing became ragged. "Or you may kill me. Once thiss iss done, my work will complete it's self..."

Grimm wheezed, he seemed weaker than he had ever seemed before, but there was determination in his face - in those strange eyes that hissed steam every few hours. It was clear that the old man did not intend to change course. Nor did he need any of the artifacts he had unceremoniously discarded. He truly believed the Living Force - the Whill was out to 'get him.'

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Vardos
OBJECTIVE: to eat
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Heart of Syn | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Darth Grimm​

"If the force plots against me...it will fail," The Lord of Hunger didn't exactly sound arrogant or overconfident, just certain. There was after all one thing which the monster had which Grimm did not seem to possess, the imagination necessary to expect certain possibilities and act upon them, the tenacity to overcome any and all adversity by observation and calculative moves. It was something the former sith lord had to learn through the humiliation on Eriadu, the disappointment on Schesa, and the eventual length of time he had spent as a wailing spirit in the deepest dregs of the Nether. The Lord of Hunger had foreseen pushback from the force in all his efforts to evolve, he knew about the time-displacement of his very soul, he knew how overreliance on the force was a dangerous thing. Yet, to destroy the force, there was in his opinion no other option than the advent of limitless evolution.

"I am called an abomination by the adepts of the Force," The man tilted his head backwards, closing his eyes as he took in a deep breath, even under the clothing, underneath the skin on his face, the very existence of the parasitical mutation he carried could be seen wriggling underneath his skin. Whatever looked human about this man had long since been lost to the eldritch monstrosity he had become. While still unstable and prone to rapid decay, there was no denying that the Lord of Hunger was possibly already reaching the treshold beyond which the natural became the supernatural, where the universal laws became no more than suggestions. "The force is sustenance, prey to me... thus if it is as you say, perhaps staying close to me would be in your advantage. you'd be like a shadow underneath the raging light I present to the force. If you are the one destined to destroy the force...you must be prepared to also become the shadow to swallow up the inferno I represent."

It was both a warning and a proposition, the Lord of Hunger slowly turned his eyes back to the skeletal man, a stern and serious look on his face. He was willing to support the man and his aspirations, though at the same time... he hoped this man understood the ramifications of his desires, what it would entail to effectively destroy the whills. Once those who control and guide the force were gone, there were only two options, either the force would vanish or it would become unstable and without limit. If it was the former, the Lord of Hunger had his contingencies, if it was the latter... pandemonium would ensue. Interesting, but also extremely dangerous.

Holding a hand towards Darth Grimm , he moved forwards, his hand seemingly reaching for the skeletal sith's skull, as if he were to grab the man's face, with the black, oily tendrils already rearing their head from underneath the man's sleeve. However, the tendrils retreated and a chuckle could be heard coming from the Lord of Hunger's twistedly grinning mouth. "That is why I am no Sith...that is why I am the outlier, the wildcard. No jedi has bested me, no sith has deigned themselves truly powerful enough to truly vanquish me. The force may be fickle, the force may follow its path without deviations...but you and I... we are already deviations, we are the holes in your very theory. Kill the Whills... destroy the force, unleash its true potential... whatever it may be that ends up happening... as long as your actions do not interfere with my own, I do not see why I should not support your path..."

 

[Darth Grimm]

Grimm waited for the tendrils to recede. He had no fear. None exuded from him. Death would come for him one way or another, and he already knew that it would not be at the hands of this creature. He was too interested in what Grimm had to say. Too interested in the knowledge that he had, and Grimm was a Baanite. Eventually, he would pass on everything he knew and expect an apprentice to kill him. Before then, he would see to it that the ones he taught - whether they cared enough to be Sith or not - would know what could further the goals of the Adepts as a whole.

"Dessstiny... is exactly what I wissh to avoid," Said Grimm low, his coughing light and restrained this time. "Perhapss... you are correct, as for they calling you 'abomination,' ssurely the old Ssith would have called Bane ssuch, and now more than half the Ssith follow hiss lead." He clanged his staff and dragged his body towards a view port, jutting out an elongated finger. Not that it was long, but rather all the flesh was drawn so tightly to his hand that his fingers seemed longer. A normal human could feel the bones on their hands, but Grimm could see his clearly.

"If my theory is correct, then the Force will be free for all to use, with no corruption of the sself to do sso. We will be able to judge what iss right and wrong for oursselves. A Ssith could face a Jedi, and not be compelled to kill each other ssimply to 'balance' thingss. Imagine ssuch a place!" The Dark Lord shuddered with a barely contained glee. "Ssimply a tool to be ussed." Then he shrugged, his head tilting as he turned his bony face back towards his companion. "Or kill it completely, and ssee how the Jedi and Ssith feel about being equal to everyone elsse. An accident of birth should not dictate your sstanding in ssociety."

"The Galaxy will right itsself in the end, and thosse who are truly worth will ssurvive, one way or the other."

Clearly Grimm thought they were both likely to survive such an upheaval, and if his actions did nothing at all, then it would verify that the order that was would be the order that would be.

"I musst go to Ni'Jedha to find the clues I sseek. The Wellspring may be there, and if sso, I will desstroy it firsst. If this is not enough, I will sseek the Whills by way of Tython." He had named two of the most dangerous occupied Jedi worlds, places where the Dark Side was weak and the Light Side brewed horrible storms and powerful Force energies.

"Will you take me there? Or musst I find my own way?"

Grimm stared out of the porthole down at the dead planet beneath. Flashes of light in the atmosphere broke over the surface, but there was no rain. No place for life to take hold. Leaving this place behind was only the first step. There was still the myriad of steps that Grimm would take to assure his success, and a few were already in place if they had survived the centuries. Grimm remarked mentally on how the Galaxy never changed, but in his heart he knew just what was to blame for that.

​

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Vardos
OBJECTIVE: to eat
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Heart of Syn | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Darth Grimm​

"A goal worthy of investigation and investment," The lord of Hunger reacted rather calmly, showing a gentle smile after hearing Darth Grimm mention that the endgoal would be the Force without a will of its own, reduced to the same status as electricity, durasteel and fuel, a tool at the expense of those who could manipulate and wield it, nothing more, nothing less. Such a status would obviously make the expenditure of energy and resources to simply dominate that will much less necessary.

When after this all, the ancient sith mentioned Ni'jedha, the place colloquially known simply as Jehda, the Lord of Hunger seemed to wince slightly, thinking that if this individual had been stuck on Vardos for as long as the First Order's original existence...possibly even longer, they might not be aware of the fact that Jehda was one of the sacrifices to the new order of Imperial might.

"While taking you to Jehda and Tython might not by any means be a burden or a task worth mentioning, " A somewhat pitying grimace appeared on the monster's face, as if to indicate he felt sorry for the cruel fate of having been stranded for so long, trapped by the innability to reach further beyond. "Both have...changed considerably... the holy city on Jehda is gone, and tython has fallen victim to the Maw, though... what you might be searching might still remain, I'd think it best to approach not just with caution, but the knowledge disappointment may be a very realistic endresult when it comes to those places."

As they had walked around, for what seemed to be quite some time by now, the Lord of Hunger motioned to a sliding door which upon approach slid open and revealed a comfortable bed, and all the necessary ammenities usually provided to upper echelons within the hierarchy of any such grand vessel. "For now, take a rest, gather your senses...you may find me on the bridge of this ship when you desire to make leave out of this system. A detour towards the Redoubt must be considered if we are to explore all the avenues of your plan properly."

 

[Darth Grimm]

Grimm did his best to hide his shock at the news, taken aback by the destruction of Tython's great city. Not as much as the destruction of the ancient Force-Nexus of Jedha. Tython could still have clues if the planet remained, but Jedha had been his birthplace so long ago, and it contained many secrets... or once had... that could have led him to the Wellspring. Perhaps to the Whills themselves. "The Force is more clever than I anticipated," responded the Dark Lord as they walked. "The evidence exissts though... It cannot be completely hidden," he said dismissively, although deep within him he roiled with anger. The timing of his resurrection, the destruction of Tython, the First Order... all these things stank of the very sort of long game that Grimm had prided himself an expert on. For the first time since he had left the Jedi Order to follow Xendor and Arden into the Legion of Lettow.

Then, he had doubted the Jedi and sought control, but had come to learn that even the Sith teachings could not separate ones self from the Will of the Force. In fact, it seemed only to cement it. After Grimm had 'died', he learned that lesson. His learning converged into a second attempt, and a new body - parsed from the very long-term planning he had enjoyed in his youth. The High Republic Era had ended for him much the same way, with his plans having backfired, but with a whole new set of plans set into motion. The planet, the genetic seeds, the droid factory... such things would remain long after he perished.

His thoughts were shattered when The Lord of the ship brought Grimm to his chambers. Opulent, thought Grimm, used to far more monastic accommodations. He strode forward, and pulled himself upright. His left hand flung out, releasing his staff from his grip. It screeched across the floor, remaining upright, as if cast immovable upon the surface there. A few runes flickered briefly, like the combination of a lock. Then it seemed to do no more, except look foreboding and dangerous.

"Thiss... iss... ssatisfactory." He grimaced, but his face did not allow for such complex expression. "There musst be many clues upon Tython. Perhapss.. it will be enough." Still, Grimm seemed a bit daunted when before he had seemed confident. "I expect you know now that you sstand before the Runemasster of the Ancient Ssith. The Weaponmasster of the Legionss of Lettow. Alchemisst and geneticisst, sscientisst... Darth Grimm, lasst of the living memberss of the First Dark Jedi to tame the Ssith." There was no grandiosity in his announcement. In fact, it seemed anticlimactic. Rather, as if the momentum had been lost. "I sshall retreat... now... to resst..." He drew his cowl down and twisted his cloak around his body, the black cloak in the light now showing it was actually a deep red... Norris root dye. An ancient dye from the Jedi Civil War, used to create lightsaber-resistant clothing. Perhaps he wasn't completely out of tricks...

​

The Lord of Hunger

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Vardos
OBJECTIVE: to eat
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword #1 | Sword #2 | Armor | Heart of Syn | Ring | Necklace | Gauntlet | DIII Gluttoneria | The guards | KRONOS
TAG: Darth Grimm​

"Tython will be our destination after The Redoubt," The Lord of Hunger calmly replied to the skeletal being now finally revealing their identity rather than hiding behind a name and occupation which would've perhaps fooled a lesser man, but not one who prided himself to have formed a nigh impenetrable web of lies around his own identity.

"Your identity in the end...matters not, Lord Grimm," Credius' head tilted slightly to the side, observing the skeletal figure's appearance, noticing the use of norris root dye in the cloak the man wrapped around himself. Smart, but not entirely unexpected, for his very guards themselves wore a similar cloak in their duty and design to counter lightsaber wielding force sensitives with high efficiency. "As long as you can deliver on your proclamations, I shall endeavour to assist you in your work."

Taking a step back, the Lord of Hunger nodded as the door to the man's quarters slid closed, at which point the monstrous abomination within the force suddenly seemed to lose his balance for a moment, resting his hand against the wall of the corridor in which he was standing, as his blonde hair began to grow slightly duller, his skin growing duller and older in appearance, the parasite within him wriggling impatiently under his skin.

Such a grand name of the ancient past residing in what looks like a frail and diminished vessel

The voice arose like a whisper from the Heart of Syn, the corrupted rainbow gem pulsating with a rhythmic hum. There was only one who could utilize the Heart of Syn to communicate directly with Credius, only one whose existence within the artifact did not diminish their presence of mind and strength of will; Arcosius Nargath , the forebearer to the Lord of Hunger and the one responsible for the Vele Jivanikas jewel which had been turned into the Heart of Syn.

His intelligence might even eclipse your own...my dear child, keep your wits about. Utilize him and his experience just as much as they will be using you... if he is who he claims to be... they might be the key to our plan, the key to rid the galaxy of all those who are to be seen unworthy of the gifts gained from the Force.

We will be able to see their use soon enough, Arcosius Credius' own thoughts penetrated the barriers of runic resistance within the Heart of Syn, answering the forefather hidden within. The Redoubt is my domain, it is where they will reveal their true nature whether they like it or not.