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[Darth Arcanos]

Azar had been avoiding this for a while. It was like ignoring a giant, unsightly, festering wound. Each day it grew bigger and spread its toxicity. That wound was the presence of Trael Osso within his palace. The Pureblood had been allowed a semblance of distraction with his weddings and adjustment to his Kingly duties. He set aside his purely personal ventures, focusing fully on building his empire. After learning that Tempest was weaker now, he knew he would move on becoming the Dark Lord at last.

He half expected Trael to attempt attacking him like a rabid animal when he first approached. Azar knocked sharply on the door to his temporary quarters. Despite being under house arrest, the Sith Master was afforded a luxurious room worthy of his title. The moment the door opened, it felt as if Azar had a bucket of ice water poured over him. He imagined looking into those eyes and that face a thousand times over. He even practiced his own kingly expression in the mirror to appear as stoic as possible. All of that fell apart in an instant. Azar took a sharp intake of breath and had to avert his gaze almost at once. He was flooded with images of just a few months ago when they were holding hands in Naboo, releasing lanterns into the night sky, whispering promises of love, laughing together. He despised Trael, he despised himself, but most of all he despised how passionately he still loved this pathetic wretch of a human.

His nostrils flared and he collected his thoughts. After exhaling, he finally looked up at him, “Master Osso,” He managed with a curt voice, “You are henceforth released and expected to resume your duties as a Sith Master. You will be taking on acolyte Kyssiara Serket as your apprentice as you have robbed her of her Master,” He said, “Is that understood?”

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael refused to allow his mind to freely wander when he was alone in his room. At least he tried to refuse it. Today he had busied himself with calibrating his lightsaber, the weapon was in pieces on the table. His kyber crystals separated and with guards, the only way he was allowed to have it. He was sitting down with the attachment Azar had given him. It was floating above his hand as he gazed at it, the memories from their egg hunt flooding him. No matter how hard he tried his heart wouldn't relinquish the hold Azar had on it.

There was a knock at the door, distracting him from his thoughts. He got up still hovering the metal attachment, making his way to the door. Trael was expecting to open the door to a guard, instead he opened it to Azar. The attachment fell to his hand almost instantly, and he shuffled to put it in his pocket. His gaze darted away from him as he desperately tried to prevent the flood of memories to come crashing over him. Trael failed at that though and was assaulted with images of the moments he held most precious. Him and Azar in front of the mirror in matching robes, the first time he told Azar he loved him, Azar's face lighting up when he cooked for him, him and Azar dancing finally. It was all he ever wanted, and he ruined it all.

"Master Osso," The words cut Trael deeper than any wound could. He was brought back to when they had started. Trael hadn't fully figured out his feelings. He made Azar feel he had crossed a boundary, and had to fix his mistake. It seemed to be all he did with Azar, mess up than try and make up for it. His gaze remained avoidant of the Sith Lord, "I understand my Lord." He said quietly, "I'm sorry for all my failings, and how I've failed you constantly." He solemnly stated as he let out the breath he didn't notice he was holding. It was late, far too late of an apology, but one he needed to give nonetheless.

His hand fidgeted on the panel in his pocket, pulling it out, "I'm not deserving of how much thought and love this gift represents. If you wish, I'll return it." He finally said just barely above a whisper. Though he kept the tears at bay his eyes looked as if the dam would burst soon. He hated that this was his new reality, he hated that this was happening now, and to top it off he hated himself for being the cause of it all.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar blinked when Trael awkwardly fiddled with something in his pocket. Was this some trick? Was Trael about to set off a bomb? The Sith Lord began to gather the Force to himself, preparing for a barrier if needed. However, Trael soon revealed what it was, the pureblood recognizing it at once. As he fumbled through his apology, Azar remained silent. His face was stone and all that practice was paying off.

Before Trael could even finish asking about returning the gift, Azar exhaled and blurted out the question that had been on his mind for over a month, “Did you just fake it all along, Trael?” He asked sternly, gazing up at the man. He told himself so many times he wouldn’t ask this question - he wouldn’t reduce himself to this. He was a King. He was married. He had a legacy to uphold. And yet the question gnawed at him so badly and kept him tossing and turning at night. It woke him up early to where Ilyan would find him sitting on the window ledge puffing on a hookah at odd hours of the night.

“Did you ever love me?” He asked, “Or was it just an elaborate ploy to cement your sense of security. Because you knew I would foolishly bail you out of every fucking prison or mess you always manage to find yourself in,” He said, venom spilling from his tone. However, the pain was unmistakable. He wanted nothing more than to throw Trael over the balcony behind him and wash his hands of the agony the man caused him.

“I had faith in you,” He growled, “When no one else did, Trael. When everyone else thought you were a fucking joke. I believed in you,” He said as he poked a finger into his own chest, his voice cracking slightly. He had to close his eyes and take a deep breath to calm himself. He had to collect himself before his tears could escape. Azar wouldn't let Trael see him cry over him. He wouldn't.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael fumbled out his apology. Even offering the gift he didn’t feel was deserved. That’s when Azar blurted out his question. Trael stopped talking immediately, he hadn’t really expected this to be asked of him. He didn’t really expect much besides an official goodbye from Azar. “I wouldn’t have been able to fake my feelings even if I wanted to.” He responded honestly, his mind flashing to when he first asked Azar to join him on a mission. He had an internal battle with himself over his fear of attachments and coming to terms with his sexuality and feelings. Through all of that his feelings never wavered, they only grew stronger and more pronounced.

He took in the next part of Azar’s questioning. He was chiding Trael asking if Azar was only an insurance policy this whole time. “At first, right after Nar Shaddaa, it was curiosity of the first man for me to ever find attractive. You were something I sought to explore and understand about myself.” Trael explained, elaborating on things he’d never told Azar, “But, as that mission went on and I spent more time with you. My curiosity shifted to genuine interest. I was drawn in by your various unique qualities and quirks. I didn’t feel that I had to force myself into fitting the relationship or the feelings that came with it. I’ve loved you since before we landed on Moraband, and even now I still do.” He said softly his voice breaking as he did. There were plenty of great memories he had of their time, all of it was burning away before him. Everything seemed so far away, like it was outside of his reach.

Azar was completely right. He had faith in Trael when no one else did. He believed in what he could become and accomplish. He inhaled a few tears escaping his eyes, “Even when I didn’t believe in myself you still had faith in what I could become. In who I could become.” He said trying to hold it all together, “I’ve done nothing but squander that faith, the love you’ve given me, the dreams that seemed like fantasy that we’re slowly beginning to look feasible.” He said sniffling, “I was never the partner you needed or deserved and for that I am truly sorry, Azar.” His gaze for the first time met the Pureblood’s as he could no longer hold in his tears. He wiped them away as he tried regaining his composure.

He was inhaling deeply, slowly regaining his composure. “If you’d allow me I still wish to aid you in taking Ziost. After that I’m not sure what I plan to do.” He said more composed now.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

It would almost have been easier if Trael simply said he never loved Azar. He would have preferred if Trael said it had all been a lie. That was easier to accept than the truth he saw clearly in Trael’s eyes. He didn’t need the Force to see everything plain as day or hear the emotion that was missing at the party. Azar looked away, unable to face Trael’s tears in fear for invoking his own. There was nothing but silence for a long moment, nothing but the distant chatter of the palace workers. Perhaps even the bold voice of his wife Thalisa, who adjusted right away to bossing around his workers.

Azar exhaled softly, closing his eyes, “Let me show you,” He said calmly. Without warning, Trael would have a series of images crop up into his mind. Azar hadn’t been powerful enough to execute something this vividly when they first met, but now he could not only show Trael but allow him to experience it.

Trael was transported back in time to a memory. It was through Azar’s eyes and he would have glimpses of the past. He would gaze into the mirror and see a teen Azar staring back at him. He would have the memories of attachment to a sister, a powerful and strong familiar bond.

Our blood is everything, A male voice would boom, one that looked similar to Azar, It must stay in the family. Sadow has executed all of your distant cousins. You must wed your sister.

Bile. Trael would feel bile rising up in his throat at the thought. A reflection of Azar’s thoughts.

They are old and outdated ideologies, father, Azar’s voice would echo through his own mouth, I will not do something so…disgusting..

Thwack. He would feel the sting of a slap. He would feel the pressure of a choke. He would be slammed to the ground. Trael would see this similar argument play out several times. One day it would go too far. Azar was shirtless, screaming on the ground.

YOU WILL REMEMBER OUR WAYS, YOU INSOLENT CHILD! Father’s voice boomed. He was frozen in place, the Force holding him down.

NOOO! Azar’s voice shouted out till he was hoarse and weak. Searing pain. Trael would feel the agony of something being carved into his back.

LET ME WRITE ONTO YOU THE DESTINY OF KRESSH SO YOU NEVER FORGET.

Please no..PLEASE STOP!

Agony. Hours of agony. It was healed after sacrificing Grotthu. And then his father carved it open on Azar’s back all over again. He wrote the entire prophecy of a promised Kressh. A Kressh destined to become Sith’ari. To unite the people of Korriban under one banner. To govern with fear.

He was left weeping on the floor. Alone, locked away, abandoned.

A leap in time happened in the memories and Trael would see through Azar’s eyes father Kressh preparing to wed his own daughter. Their line was dying, there was no other choice according to Father. On the day of the wedding, Trael would see glimpses of Azar approaching Father in the great forge of Korriban. He was there crafting the rings for the wedding to his own daughter.

The memory would then flash to Azar picking up a red hot blade. Before Father could comprehend, the blade was pressed against his face. Trael would smell the stench of burning flesh, would hear the agony in his voice, would hear all the curses Father set upon Azar, telling him he was a son that would fall into despair and forever lose his name. Father would then be pushed into the depths of lava beneath the mines.

What have you done, brother? His sister’s voice would echo. Trael would feel the confusion Azar felt, We are shamed!

Patricide. The most grievous of crimes.

A leap in memory. Trael, as Azar, would come across the corpse of his sister. Suicide. He would see the entire community around him.

Exile, A collective voice echoed, You no longer have a name. You will never have a name.

Despair. He would see months of wandering aimlessly, lost in the galaxy. He would see glimpses of Azar living as a homeless vagrant, as nothing more than a chained warrior that was thrown into the fighting pits. He would see an Azar having accepted a life as a quiet man living in the shadows.

And then the memories would shift to Trodai (@Akheron ), the first being to truly act to give Azar his name back. Trael would instantly understand the power Trodai could have held over Azar, how much merit Trodai had as an Adas, how he could have turned Azar in, how he could have taken the throne for himself, how Azar was completely at his mercy. And yet Trodai did none of that - instead giving him every opportunity to earn his name back.

For the first time Trael would feel what Azar felt - hope. Hope from reclaiming the name, that feeling of empowerment that someone believed in him, that he could take on the galaxy, that his past did not define him. Many thought he could do great things back then, only Trodai actually acted on it.

The memory would flash to an older Azar, an Azar that was preparing to march on Murzana and begin his campaign. That older Azar turned to look at the text carved onto his back, the one his father etched over and over again years ago, You may have written it, Azar said to himself in the mirror, But I can still own the story.

Azar escaped Trael’s mind then, the two of them back in that room in the present. Trael would have a complete and full understanding of why Trodai had been so important to him, why Trodai’s actions laid down the foundations for Azar to become the King he was today.

“All you had to do was ask to hear my story, Trael,” Azar whispered quietly as he looked at Trael, “I would have told you,” He said calmly before turning to leave.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael was uneasy in this silence slightly. Normally he was fully content to just exist in silence with Azar, that’s all he needed was Azar to be present. It was only broken by the distant sounds of the palace workers and the occasional order being barked out from a woman. It stayed like that for what felt hours, until Azar mentioned he’d show Trael. A multitude of images began to emerge in his mind, ones he’d never seen before, ones that weren’t his.

He was then transported to a memory he didn’t recognize. He was looking into a mirror and Azar was looking back. This was one of Azar’s memories, but it felt like it was one of his own. He could feel and sense what Azar felt in the moment, even down to the attachments he held for his sister. The argument between Azar and his father began. His father’s booming voice was instructing Azar that their blood was everything, that to preserve it he had to marry his sister. Trael himself was sickened at the thought of it, but the bile he felt rising wasn’t from his feelings but Azar’s. Trael, viewing himself as Azar, refused the order from his father, and was subsequently beaten for his insolence.

This argument and the punishment played out multiple times. Each similar to the previous, until one time Azar overstepped too far. He was pinned to the ground as his father boomed at him. Trael felt the searing pain as something was carved into his back. It was agonizing, beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. It was healed by the sacrifice of slaves, only to be reopened, a process that was repeated over and over. Trael could recall tracing over what he now knows was the scar from this on Azar’s back idly. He didn’t know the pain behind it. He never asked either. When it was over he was alone, abandoned, locked away and weeping on the floor.

Next he was transported through time. Father Kressh was preparing for a wedding, one to his own daughter. According to him it was the only way to save their dying line. On the day of the wedding he was approaching him as he forged the rings for the wedding in the Great Forge. Incest was something Trael knew of and he always was disgusted by the idea, a sentiment he could feel Azar shared. the memory flashed to Azar picking up a blade from the forge, plunging it against his fathers face. The man threw curses at Azar, he told him he’d fall into despair, told him he would lose his name. He watched as the man fell into the lava behind the mines, before a voice echoed asking what he’d done and claiming they were shamed.

Azar had committed patricide, it was the most egregious crime among Pureblood society. He then leaped through the memories again, this time walking up to the corpse of his sister. Grief filled him as he looked out to the community surrounding him, collectively calling him an exile, condemning him to no longer hold his name. He then felt the utter despair as he wandered for months, aimlessly, lost in a galaxy he didn’t understand. He lived as a a homeless vagrant, one day being forced to fight in pits. Azar accepted his life as a quiet man who stuck to the shadows.

Then he was shown memories of Trodai, Trael was given a new understanding. He was the first to give Azar back his name. He held all the cards, could’ve used Azar as a leverage to gain the crown, the merit him being an Adas held, Azar was at Trodai’s mercy and Trodai did none of it. He aided Azar in claiming his name, he did for Azar what Azar had done for Trael, he believed in him unwaveringly. He saw what Azar was able to become and accomplish. He fully embraced and supported Azar when he could’ve easily done the opposite for his own gain. Trael took that person away from Azar, the one that was there when no one else was. He was then taken to a memory of Azar preparing to take Murzana. He looked at the carved prophecy on his back, stating that the story may have been written by his father but he could still be the one it was about.

Then Trael was back in the room. He had a new understanding, not just of Trodai, but of the man before him. The man he loved, the man he never truly took the time to learn. Tears were on his face from the overwhelming emotions he received from the experience. He promptly wiped them away as Azar spoke. “I wished I would’ve asked. So much would be different.” He mused sadly. Azar turned to leave, Trael didn’t want to let him go, didn’t want it to end now. Was that him being selfish? Was it wrong for him to still feel that way after everything that’s transpired? Could it ever be the same if he tried to make amends?

“Before you go.” He said trying to stop Azar, “I’d be honored if you joined me as I toured the city before leaving.” He said sheepishly, “Obviously it’s for diplomatic purposes.” He explained, “As a noble from Naboo and a family that were prominent traders, we could discuss an agreement between my house and yours over lunch or tea.” He said in a mock posh Nabooian accent as he formulated an excuse, “It would bring the fineries of Naboo to Korriban. Unless of course you have pressing matters, if so we could reschedule it for another time.” He continued in the mock accent, “Since I’m not overly familiar with the fashion of the planet, you’d have to help suggest an outfit.” He added, never one to be improperly dressed wherever he was. Trael came up with an extremely obvious excuse, and he didn’t care at all. Though he did hold the ability to act on such an agreement, and would gladly if one was made. All it would take is an expansion he’d been planning of his company. His excuse did exactly what he wanted. Gave him an opportunity to spend time with Azar.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar had turned to leave, already thinking about how to put on his King face again. However, Trael began to speak and it didn’t end only at an emotional apology or a solemn goodbye. He had fully expected the stoic man to simply stew in what he learned by himself. What Trael suggested instead caught Azar by surprise and he slowly turned to regard the human. While the posh accent didn’t draw that smile that Trael was so used to, it did catch the Pureblood’s attention.

Seconds ticked by as he simply stared at Trael. A huge part of him wanted to simply turn and slam the door in his face. He thought back to that ridiculous Trael Report and all the ways Karys was perhaps right. Azar didn’t have it in him to let the man break his heart again and it was so much easier to just close that door forever. He had his wives now and a carefully manicured life to look forward to. Another part of him wanted to forget everything and sink into Trael’s arms, remembering all their fond memories. After all, even Azar couldn’t deny that Trodai was proving problematic up until his death. The conflict was clear in his eyes. Azar knew Trael loved him and he knew he still loved Trael.

But Azar had been wounded.

Azar closed his eyes, exhaling softly, “Not today, Master Osso,” He said calmly, gazing at him again, “I look forward to your assessment of your new apprentice and whether she proves problematic,” Azar said, gazing at Trael as if he had more to say. However, before his voice could crack again, before his emotions could flood again, before he could lose his courage again - he turned around.

And he was gone.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael felt a sense of elation when Azar stopped and turned around. Though the smile he had grown used to, the one he’d grown fond of, the one he wanted to see, was missing. He had still drawn Azar’s attention and that was enough to at least make his request. The seconds ticked by as Azar just stared at him. Trael had to actively prevent himself from fidgeting out of nervousness. He could see the conflict in Azar’s eyes but not the thought process behind it. Would he end their relationship officially here? Was this the point where he had a chance to turn it around? Azar had wives, duty and responsibilities to occupy him now. Did Trael even stack up to all of those now?

Azar exhaled and again addressed him officially. A wave of sadness and despair came across Trael. “Of course. You’ll have a report as soon as I can compile one, Lord Arcanos.” He said his voice slightly breaking as he gazed at Azar. Azar gazed at him for a few moments before turning and leaving. The echo of his steps slowly fading. Trael had more to say to him, but he had hurt Azar in a way he never wanted. Trael should’ve expected it not to be so easy after his betrayal of Azar’s trust, but a part of him hoped that it would’ve.

He gathered the minuet amount of things he had with him. He had an apprentice to train, and was now free to leave the palace. He went and collected his Kyber crystals from the guards, and made his way to the city. He passed through the markets to see what was sold there, not seeing anything from Naboo immediately. He continued through till he reached the spaceport and found his ship. He got on, immediately shutting down the piloting droid and setting it in the copilot seat. He took the controls and launched the ship into space punching in the coordinates to Umbara.

The ship lurched into hyperspace and Trael sat in the seat watching the galaxy pass him by. He let the tears fall he held back at Azar leaving, as he stared into the void. His mind played through all the memories that Azar had showed him. I should’ve been more considerate of him. Trael had to make a decision here and now. Though there were two paths Trael could only ever choose one. He couldn’t abandon his feelings for Azar, he couldn’t abandon Azar. He didn’t make empty promises when he told Azar he was there for the rest of his story, or when he declared he would stand by him no matter what the future held. He would put in the effort Azar deserved, and work to be the partner he should’ve been all this time. For now though he would do his duty as a Master, and begin training his apprentice.

/thread end

@Sreeya