Private Wisdom Of Thy Elders

[Revna]

Tags: Srina Talon // Darth Empyrean​

Revna was restless.

As each new day passed upon Korriban, the closer she drew to a future she was both looking forward to and one that made her nervous. So many different emotions and thoughts were tangled into what was coming, and for Revna it was almost overwhelming. Excitement and trepidation were interwoven with one another each time her mind touched on the topic, every time she opened her eyes to look upon faces that were becoming more familiar and known to her, and every time she set foot upon the ancient and Dark soaked sands of Korriban.

Every time her eyes shifted over the horizon, to the distant Valley of the Dark Lords and the ancient scattered tombs behind…she felt the weight of what was coming descend upon her shoulders.

And if she was honest with herself - she had no idea how to prepare herself for it, to become a ruler, a queen. She understood a little bit of what it meant to be a leader of a group of people - but nothing on this scale. Of course, she wouldn’t be doing this alone…but she had accepted the offer that had been extended to her, and she took the fact that Caedes would be sharing that with her and relying on her, very seriously.

But there was something else that kept her moving, kept her mind shifting and her thoughts turning. She wanted to be the best partner she could be, for him, but she had no idea what that looked like. Darth Caedes wasn’t her Master, he wasn’t her High Priest.

He was something altogether different, and she had no experience with any of …that.

He wanted her to be his queen…but what did that mean? What did that look like?

Revna had no one whom she felt could truly answer that question for her. No one she knew had a partnership with someone else…

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. And this set her mind to rolling and wondering if perhaps the most important female figure in her life, Srina, could provide some wisdom and insight. She was partnered to one of the most powerful Sith in the entire Galaxy, and was the Empress of the Sith Order. Surely she had something that could be useful to the young Sith woman. And, as terrifying as the idea was, perhaps Revna could talk to them both about these things. But she didn’t expect the Emperor himself to even be bothered with such a matter, and so she set that option aside.

Revna was deep in midst of her pacing and thoughts, when she felt a familiar touch upon her mind - one which froze her in place as she tilted her head and listened. When nothing happened immediately, she touched that familiar presence, and felt a bridge being shaped and formed - one that spanned the galaxy. Awe and near reverence shone in Revna’s eyes; she was always amazed at the power that Srina wielded. Revna had never seen the full weight of it expressed in person, but she had heard stories. Maybe, one day, she could fight alongside the woman.

Revna closed her eyes and encouraged the bridge to build further as a small smile played across her face, and when she sensed there was an open pathway between her and Lady Talon, she sent along a brief message.

I miss our ‘study sessions’ aboard the Malsheem.

There would be a brief pause, before the young woman continued speaking her thoughts.

I am safe and sound - as much as I can be anyway. But I have matters on my heart I need advice and wisdom on…and there is no one else I could think of besides you that could help me, my Lady. May…may I come see and speak with you, over some tea perhaps? ​

 

[Srina Talon]

Direct Tag: Darth Empyrean | Revna

______________________________________
​

// I will send for you //

It was the singular response that Revna would have received after reaching out. The mental bridge that had formed between herself and the young woman waxed and waned when it was needed but had never faded away. Perhaps, it was because of her situation. Srina waited for when the apprentice reached out in need because she was a prisoner in plain sight. Free but not free. Believing that her Master had passed into the Mists Beyond…And even perhaps that her family had forsaken her.

Srina wished for the raven-haired woman to know that in an Empire of ghouls and beasts…She was not alone.

A missive had been drafted for Darth Carnifex a fortnight prior, requesting, that Revna be sent to Jutrand. There was no reason for the Butcher King to deny her request as he had control over the apprentice in the form of a device wrapped around her spine. She could not run. She could not disobey him. The Empress had visited with Revna many times on the Malsheem without incident…And the reply had been favorable. The apprentice of the late Darth Strosius would be delivered to her.

Their guest would be greeted on one of many landing pads by Praetorian Guards and assessed by nosy Sepulchral for any perceived threat. The long-lost silent wars between the Kainite, Tsis'Kaar, and Eternalism were in the past, but not so far removed, that trust was instantly granted. Within the walls of the palace there were already conniving snakes, slithering in the shadows, and the Sepulchral seethed at the thought of competition. Revna would be led through winding corridors of the blackest obsidian, creased, with gold and blended with technology. Jutrand was evolved, a synth city, after all.

Large doors opened to reveal a chamber that was dimly lit, brightened with effervescent lamps, and a pale glow evening coming through a transparisteel skylight. The void of space could be seen above the city lights, where stars stretched endlessly into the void, distant, and indifferent to the Empire that sat beneath them. This room seemed to be some sort of twisted conservatory. It was not a place where vegetation thrived, but pristine, and full of steel and instruments with medical cleanliness.

The air would be heavy with silence, punctuated only by the slow, deliberate press of ivory keys beneath the fingertips of the Empress. She sat beside the Emperor on a long piano bench while she played a song that she had heard Darth Empyrean play for her a thousand times. She…Was good at technical precision. At memorizing the score. But, she lacked his ability to make it come to life.

"Slower on the left hand."

The correction from her husband came easily—Gentle for her sake, but absolute. The voice of her beloved was like a deep current, horrifying to most, but Srina found comfort in tones that could have peeled paint from a wall. He did not reprimand her. He did not demand. It was merely…Instruction. The pale woman did not at him, did not need to, and knew that a force unseen would guide her wrist. Adjusting a finger, when necessary.

Once, he had played for her.

Now, she played for him.

The activities that they took to as husband and wife were often not what one might expect. They danced. They talked. They read books, Empyrean, braided her hair and filled it with charms of his choosing. Each a letter of love and pride. Few seemed capable of adjusting to the idea of a Corpse King and his still-living bride, but often, they overcomplicated the ideal. Created fantasy, where reality, was so much plainer and satisfying. There was an unspoken bond between them—Something neither needed to explain nor reflect upon. Sith did not abide sentiment, yet, they held relentless attachment to one another. Unending, affection.

Moon and stars.

Sun and sky.​

A shift in the Force stirred the air, subtle, as the change in the piece's movement from adagio to allegro.

"She is here, meldanya*[beloved]."

Srina had explained that Revna would be coming that day, that likely, their lesson would be interrupted. They had gone over the situation with her imprisonment, which was not quite, and the death of her Master, which was not quite. The latter half they could not yet speak of. Her eyes remained on the keys but her focus shifted to the entryway while she continued to play the solemn and sweet piece for the enjoyment of the man at her side. There was a moment. A breath of quiet contentment…That yielded their needs in the face of duty if only because Srina wished it so. When the children of the Empire called, she would answer.

The melody softened while her fingers remained still on the keys for a moment.

"Enter.", the Empress spoke, voice like winter.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean had been a slave to many masters, but few knew any of this about the Emperor. Fewer still, perhaps, knew that the monster he was could play the piano with great skill, or cook on par with many high end restaurants. These things were known only by Srina Talon - because she was all that needed to know anything but the beast others feared.​

​

So he taught her in the isolation they shared, in the quiet presence of eachother. Srina was good with her finger movements, deftly crossing each hand and finger through complex positions - it was her way, as an Echani, to be all the more skilled in dexterous movements than he was. She had won a fair more than a few of their own duels using similar skills. Even still, she lacked a certain ear for the art in something - the care of a cooked dish, the life of a piece of music. These things were not her strong point, despite the fact she could tell someone's entire history with a simple spar.​

​

The Emperor mused on these things as he gently pushed her fingers when they were out of place, using his omniscience and skill as a Force User to correct her. Small instructions. Quiet words as she played music he was no longer able to.​

​

When she spoke, he didn't offer a word in response, only offered a small grunt of an affirmation. He was already aware of her coming - but said nothing to stop their lesson or move from his place. He didn't even look back at the door as it was told to open.​

​

Srina Talon // Revna​

 

[Revna]

Tags: Srina Talon // Darth Empyrean

​

I will send for you.

It was all Revna needed to hear to know that her request had been heard, and had been accepted. She didn’t have to wait very long before a ship arrived on Korriban, collected her, then made its journey back towards Jutrand. For her trip and her upcoming visitation with the Empress, Revna had decided to wear something that she was most comfortable in: simple Zeyd-cloth robes, combat boots, silken black gloves to cover her hands so she didn’t cause unnecessary death with her newfound ability, and her utility belt with a single lightsaber hilt at her hip. She wore no embellishments, and though she normally would have worn the necklace of the ashes of her Master, she chose to leave it behind in a safe and secured place that only she knew about.

The young Sith was contemplative on the flight back to Sith Space, somber even, as she looked back over everything that had happened, all the choices and decisions she had made that had led her to this moment in time. Revna realized too that this would be the first time she had seen Srina since the death of her Master. She recalled the moments early on where she desperately wanted to sit in Lady Talon’s presence and mourn, to try and make sense of the loss suffered and where to go or what to do next - but the darkness had been so consuming and so great that she had rejected nearly everyone in those early days. She had been close to her Master, had looked forward to their reunion - and to watch and feel Him die and at the hand of her own flesh and blood…that was a pain unlike anything she had experienced yet.

Not even the torture that Carnifex or Prazutis had put her through had compared to that kind of pain. It was still something she struggled with, but she was trying to heal, trying to figure out her next steps in life, seizing opportunity when and where it arose for her.

This and many other things circled through the young Sith’s mind as she continued her journey to the Sith capital world. She was, admittedly, excited to see Srina again. The wintry woman had been a sort of rock, an anchor, for her when she’d been aboard the Malsheem, undergoing her many tests and trials and challenges. Srina had been the one good thing she could look forward to, one of the very few things that pushed Revna to succeed and defy the odds stacked against her. She wanted to live to see the Echani again, to listen to her read from one of the many books within Darth Carnifex’s grand library.

It had been the only time where she was allowed a respite from the torture, from having her bones repeatedly broken and healed in her duels and martial practices from both Dark Lords; from being forced to butcher slaves just to keep herself alive, among many other things that she had faced and conquered. The Revna that had gone into the Malsheem had been effectively broken down and reshaped into something more than what she had been before, but no matter what they did to her - they never could shake her faith, and she never lost sight of who she was - though she had come close to turning away from everything she had ever known.

Upon landing, Revna disembarked and was immediately greeted by imperial Praetorian Guards. Revna was silent and neutral as the Sepulchral assessed her to make sure she was not a threat. When she had passed all the requirements to enter the Imperial Palace proper, Revna was guided onward, through vast hallways of obsidian veined with gold, blended seamlessly with technology. The place was dark and grand, just as she remembered it being, and it was so vastly different from the natural and more traditional themes of Korriban. Where Jutrand embraced its synth heart, Korriban embraced the long held traditions and architecture and history of the ancient Sith themselves. It was something she had come to deeply appreciate and enjoy, a place she had begun to finally see as home.

A place worth fighting and spilling blood for - at least it was for her.

The little Sith was guided towards two massive doors, and beyond them she could sense a deep well of pure and malevolent power - the Dark side made manifest. Jutrand was soaked in the energies of the Dark side, but this was far beyond even that. It was near suffocating, thick like blood or oil and it sent a chill down her spine, made the hairs across her body stand on end. It was perhaps her first and strongest indication that it wasn’t just Lady Talon on the other side. Darth Empyrean was either beyond those doors, or not too far away, and this caused the young woman’s heart to begin racing away within her chest.

She’d only really seen and spoken to Empyrean once, at a lavish dinner she had attended along with her Master after participating in the Emperor's War Council, but this would be the first time facing him after the events of the Kaggath, and the bold and frankly foolish declarations made by Strosius. Everything and everyone that had been connected to and with her Master had been declared as traitors, and she wasn’t sure if the Emperor would indeed view her as such due to her loyalty and connection to her High Priest.

She supposed there was only one way to find out.

The doors opened when a frigid but familiar feminine voice beyond beckoned Revna to enter, and so she did. Fiery eyes that almost seemed to faintly glow in the low light flickered over the grand chamber she had been led towards, noticing the near surgical cleanliness, the lights and the gleam of the evening light coming through the transparisteel skylight above. Musical notes, sweet and melodic, reached her ears and her sharp eyes settled upon the two figures seated together before a grand piano. For a moment, all Revna could do was watch and listen in awe - just like she had watched the duo dance a few years prior, when she'd been but a fresh acolyte.

Back then, their connection had mystified and awed her, not because she was so shocked that such a beautiful woman would be connected with what amounted to a living Corpse, but because Revna simply hadn’t understood what it meant to have a companion, a partner, someone with whom to share such moments with. Now, she was beginning to understand, and there was a twinge of guilt within her for having intruded into this private moment for the two of them, but she also knew that she wouldn’t have been allowed in if her presence wasn't wanted, and so the guilt was pushed aside as she silently genuflected in a gesture of respect.

She absolutely despised kneeling to anyone; she had refused to kneel even to Carnifex or Prazutis and she had never even bowed to her own Master, but this was a completely different situation, and frankly she didn't wish to provoke Empyrean's infamous and legendary ire. If respect was owed then it would be given, despite how Revna felt about it.

And thus she waited there to be addressed, waited for the time where she could speak about the things that had prompted her to seek out Lady Talon in the first place. And maybe, if she was lucky, she would be granted the gift of insight and wisdom from the Emperor too.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean had not moved as Revna entered, but he did look back at her with the dead expression of a corpse. Metal eyes seemed to watch her for a moment, and the sensation of darkness became more sickening and absolute as the Emperor's artificial attention bore down on her but for a moment. He looked away, and it relented.​

​

"Rise child. You are here on my Wife's favor; you need not feed my pride. Be free, I am only her husband today.", he said flatly, though the roughness of his voice had made it sound angry, despite it being clear he wasn't. That was one unfortunate part of being a corpse - you always sounded like you wanted to kill.​

​

Still, he made no demands of her now. He remained quiet, and waited for Srina Talon or Revna to continue, himself just a third participant in something he knew was more important than ceremony.​

 

[Srina Talon]

Direct Tag: Darth Empyrean | Revna

______________________________________​

"You are not ever, only."

The soft words that slipped from her in correction were issued without fear of an audience hearing her blatant unruliness. It was possible that Empyrean had not intended for the statement to sound diminishing but every part of her railed against the notion that he could, in some way, be less significant. He was her sun, her sky. Even in this changed state, this constant, enduring death…Nothing had changed. Their relationship had evolved—But she was ever and always caught in his orbit.

The air of intimacy had shifted slightly with the entry of her guest. She did not look away from the sheet music immediately but instead silently evaluated the young woman that had traveled so far. She could sense tension in her stance, the strain, of standing before the Emperor bringing it to the surface as if it were artificially buoyant. There was uncertainty among a sea of changing tides. All things were laid bare through the Force, even though, a controlled demeanor kept it hidden.

Srina…Did not begrudge Revna for any fear—If it existed. Fear was the first lesson.

She played the final few chords, fingers pressing gently into the keys, trying in vain to wring emotion out of it that she herself had difficulty expressing. Her hands skilled and she sighed while her lips curved into a faint frown. "Was that better?", the Echani asked, while her hands stilled. Her shoulders were squared in perfect form and everything she had done was technically perfect. Technical but…

Empty.

Gold-hewn orbs pulled away from the instrument and turned to settle on Revna's kneeling form. She said nothing at first. Instead, she regarded the progeny of Darth Strosius with a careful eye that was neither warm nor cold. The pale woman had not forgotten what the raven-haired acolyte had endured at the hands of their Kainite brethren and was uncertain of the effects. Greater Sith had gone…Entirely insane after being subjected to such torment and experiment. She searched for cracks. For what might be left of her soul, strength, or damnation.

Srina searched for signs that…This woman had been broken by the fire and blood she had been tempered with. If it had happened? The Echani, felt responsible.

||Beware the flame||
​

Srina had not known the words of wisdom that had been shared while they danced so long ago to be literal. "Come little one…Let me see you.", she murmured, with the assumption that Revna would return to her feet since Empyrean had directly given her leave to do so. One of several high-backed chairs pulled itself from across the room and parked just behind Revna. It was close enough she would feel the tap against the back of her knees with the expectation that she be seated close to the piano.

It was probably the nearest most came to being to Empyrean without threat of pain or imminent death.

"You seem well given the circumstances. What has transpired in my absence?"

What a fine mess her wayward younglings had gotten themselves into this time. The Kainite had taken Revna, held her captive, while Revna had declined her intervention. She had been tortured. To her knowledge…She was still being controlled by a device in her spine. Srina had seen the acolyte in the arms of the King of Korriban with her own eyes. So had Carnifex. Had that been the plan all along? To seduce her from the grasp of Alisteri Haxim? It was a plan that seemed too complex, too nuanced, to have hatched from the likes of Prazitus—But stranger things had happened. To top it all off…

Her Master lived.

Revna did not know it—And Srina, nor Empyrean, could share the information before the time was right.

This was not a state that the Empress liked to be in. She did not lie…And lying by omission was an anathema toward how she treated those in her sphere. It was a breach of trust. It made her teeth grind and flicked a trigger of annoyance inside of her like no other. She wanted to end it all. Every bit of drama and unnecessary suffering was just waiting for someone to put an end to it. Srina, could do that. Carnifex would not deny her if she asked for the girl… But the girl, the woman, wanted to figure things out on her own.

It was respectable. Foolish, but respectable.

"Am I still to understand that you would wish to remain as you are?"

Every time they met the Empress made the attempt to assess her mental faculties and state of being. Srina was pleased to see her breathing, well, and enjoying the comforts of forced obedience, but the thought of being kept in such a way rankled her. Freedom was everything to one who had been enslaved. Especially, for one who had been given a taste of power, and then locked up. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting to maintain this sort of status quo…But she would fight for Revna as the young woman saw fit. Maintain, her autonomy. "You must realize…"

"Your cousin will not let this go quietly."

Darth Malum of House Marr had been in the dark of her whereabouts until more recently. It had not gone over in a way that could be called "well" and the Empress knew it was only a matter of time. It was not her place to intervene—But day by day, her patience wore thin. She was bothered. Srina lifted her hand from the keys and reached for the leather-and-bone hand of her husband. One arm, the one that was little more than void and mist, would pass through her, but regardless she couldn't get too close.

His core was a miasma of raw power…If she moved wrong? It would rend flesh from bone.

So—She would stay close…But she would not move wrong.

 

[Revna]

Tags: Srina Talon // Darth Empyrean
​

The weight of his gaze on her was…akin to being smothered by the very essence of the Dark side itself. It was enough to make the body shiver, hairs stand on end, and the heart skip a beat with primal fear. With but a moment’s glance, the Emperor’s gaze was there upon her - then gone, and with it left the weight of his scrutiny.

Empyrean bid Revna to rise, to be free - that he was only Srina’s husband today and not the Emperor - and she had to conceal a faint smile when she heard Lady Talon’s rebuke towards his choice of words. She remained still for a heartbeat or two longer, before she pushed herself back up to stand on her own two feet. Her eyes lifted and caught Srina’s golden, piercing, gaze. She did nothing to hide herself from that search; very very few individuals in the galaxy were permitted to see past Revna’s guarded walls, and Srina was one of them. She had earned that trust from Revna, several times over.

The little Sith woman had changed; she’d grown stronger, in her own ways. What had been done to bring her low, had only made her evolve into something greater than what she had been before; she was resilient, tempered by wisdom and cunning, and had to be to survive the crucible that Carnifex and Prazutis had seen fit to run her through, time and time again. But despite their best efforts, Revna was still a creature of faith and loyalty to those that earned it from her.

Srina spoke then, told Revna to come closer so that she might see her better. A high backed chair was summoned forth and settled just behind Revna - a silent gesture to take a seat, and she did so without protest, though she did cast one very brief and flickering gaze to the Emperor, before her attention settled solely upon Srina.

“Thank you for allowing me to see and speak with you again, Lady Talon.” She honestly wanted to say more than that, but she left her statement as it was; there was no need to be gushy here.

"You seem well given the circumstances. What has transpired in my absence?"

Revna inhaled a breath, a pause. Her ember eyes flickered down to her small gloved hands, that had now settled in her lap as she crossed one leg over the other. “Hmm…” Revna hummed and tilted her head slightly to one side, something she did as she pondered and thought about something. Her mind flickered over everything that had taken place since the last time she’d met with the Empress, including the greatest events to have taken place in the young woman’s life - at least, up until that moment in time. “Many things…great and small. Some joyful…others, were not.”

It wouldn’t be hard to miss the flicker of sorrow, of pain, that echoed through the young woman. Anger, too - deep and simmering.

“I transitioned to Korriban after my Master’s…death. No I was not forced to go; I went willingly - seized the opportunity to be away from them, to be in a new environment for a time. I had always wanted to go to Korriban anyway, and I am glad that I did. I was given my own space, my own quarters…and allowed to mourn and find my feet in my own way, without reprisal. To heal, or try to. To come to terms with what had happened, and find a way forward despite it all. Make my own path, and do what I do best…which is learn, and then grow from that. The effort seems to have paid off, in its own ways.”

Another pause as the young raven haired Sith considered her response, and in that space of time Srina asked her another question.

"Am I still to understand that you would wish to remain as you are?"

Revna lifted her eyes once more to look at the wintry Empress; she knew of what the other woman spoke of, and a hardness came over her eyes briefly. It was such a weighted question, with a weighted and complex answer.

“...I will, for a little while longer. But I sense the time approaches for when I will have my freedom returned to me, one way or another.” Revna said after her moment of silence, leaving out the wish part in her response. The truth was, she didn’t wish to be held captive to Prazutis, or Carnifex, any longer. She had only stayed to gain what knowledge she could from both Dark Lords, while she was in their captivity. It benefited her to remain on the Malsheem, to be a student of the Kainate's so called Eternal Father and his Shadow Hand. But she sensed that her time with them was drawing to a close - though she didn’t know when that time would come, exactly.

She had a solution in mind to her little “problem”, though. A plan made, but one she was not looking forward to. It was truthfully a backup, in case Prazutis chose to stonewall her release to whoever made such a demand from him. But deep in her heart, she knew he would refuse to release her. And when the truth of that inevitably reached her, then she would do what needed to be done.

And if she did it right, she just might live through the experience and come out on the other side free at last.

"You must realize...Your cousin will not let this go quietly."

A shadow of darkness, of something ugly, flickered over Revna’s pale face at the mention of her cousin. Brief memories of the last time she’d seen him, danced before her mind’s eye - his blade buried in the chest of the only person who had truly mattered to her at the time - and his promise that he had made to her on that fateful day of the wedding reception, a promise he had broken.

Her eyes flickered to watch as Srina reached out and took hold of the dead hand of Empyrean, taking caution to avoid the swirling mass of dark power that made up half of his being. The sight, while it would have disturbed most others, strangely fascinated Revna. It was enough to make the hardness in her eyes soften a bit as she replied back.

“I will admit, the topic of my cousin brings forth strong emotions within me. Part of me hopes he does not let this ‘go quietly’ and shows his face…whenever that happens. I am most eager to hear what he has to say for himself on a lot of things.” It was easy to hear the derision in Revna’s voice, the scorn she held for her cousin in the moment. The buried hurt, the restrained fury. Revna hadn’t heard a single word from her cousin, her own flesh and blood, throughout the entire time of her capture. Her own Master, with all his fiery boldness and eccentricities, had found a way to sneak in a liaison into the Malsheem for the two of them to communicate…but her own cousin couldn’t manage even that? The so-called Lord of the Tsis’Kaar? To say she was hurt and confused was an understatement.

It was all still a mess. One she wished would just…go away. But Revna knew that it wouldn’t simply vanish, and ignoring it would only hurt her more.

“I-I am torn between my desire for revenge and the insight to know that there would be no point to it. Seeking revenge against Malum wouldn’t bring my Master back to me…though I would be lying if I said I haven’t had days where I strongly wish I could rip his throat out and display his head on a pike for all to see. But I know that would just rip open the wound that has begun to finally heal, and make everything worse.”

The young woman sighed heavily, for a moment weighed down by the weight of all of it, before she seemed to pick herself back up and straighten her shoulders.

“But I didn’t seek an audience just to have you waste your time hearing me talk about my childish revenge desires for one of my own family members. I…actually was hoping you’d be able to share some wisdom and insight about some things for me. From both of you - if possible.”

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean hadn't turned to face them, instead he allowed a moment to hold Srina Talon 's hand, then let go to idly tap on the piano. It wasn't enough to force any note to play, his deadened fingers moved slowly from key to key, brushing the tops then moving on. He struggled to make his hand move in the right ways at time - there was such a difference between playing from the heart, and playing from memory. It was where Srina failed, and where he could no longer tread.

His heart was gone, and his hand paid the price.

"Revenge should not be done to accomplish something.", he offered, low and dark.

"It accomplishes nothing. As you said, it will not bring Darth Strosius back - but it does feel good, in the moment. The scars are already there, revenge simply balms it for a moment, surges a touch of painkiller to the wound. If you intend to kill your cousin, do it because it feels good, not because you want satisfaction."

It was an odd piece of advice, but a straight forward one. He continued to try and play but for only a moment, then stopped and turned on the bench to face Revna . His gaze never got easier to be under, but it was not as pressured as it had been when she arrived.

"What do you need wisdom upon?"

Revna