Cult of Fanatics

[Darth Victress]

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Seems her investigative skills had led her to the valley of the Dark Lords, preferring to arrive in the middle of nightfall as to maintain certain elements of stealth. Intelligence officers had notified her of a ritual occurring several hundred meters western from the tomb of Darth Malos. When she arrived, there were campfires lit in the desert landscape but seemingly abandoned. Fire burned freshly while noises and animalistic incantations were heard deeper into the cavern.

A scowl came to her face as she merely waited for now, darkness gathering around her as she drew the force to her. She was surprised that the Emperor himself had decided to accompany her on this mission, as she felt it would be far too dangerous to risk his life on this endeavor. However, these cults were growing to be a nuisance and a message had to be delivered. Her red lightsaber hissed to life as she stood several meters in front of the cavern entrance. Sith Marauder robes flowing brilliantly in the breeze as the crusader waited for her Dark Lord.

@Kayenta Moenkopi @Narsi

 

[The Storyteller]

Narsilla reveled in the sensation of the ritual filling her mind, body, and soul. Her fervent prayers for the birth of a Sith worthy of the name to strengthen the Empire had gone unfulfilled and was it any wonder? Only here among the dead could she feel the power it would take to drag their people back from the weakened state they were in. Had the revival of Jedi occurred in any other age she felt the presence of the light side flourishing would have been detected long before some gossip hungry reporter could make his grand reveal for all the galaxy to see. It was inconceivable that not one had sensed the taint upon the force before then, and yet that is what had happened. It only furthered her lack of awe in the one who called himself their Emperor.

But this man who flattered himself by assuming the title of Darth fell short of the Dark Lords of old. Sure he was the undisputed power in the galaxy, but when the competition was so meager even the flotsam of a weakened line could rise to the top. Those in her order refused to bend the knee, the ancestors would have forsaken them all for such a betrayal, and the woman herself demanded more from one who dared to assume the mantle of her Lord and master.

For an eternity those in her order had waited for the birth of one who would lead them to new heights of power and yet the silent vigil with which they had been tasked continued unending. While the powers at be vied for supremacy in space, the heart and soul of an Empire was filled with a cancer that would not pick sides but destroyed all indiscriminately. And yet within Narsilla had been given the gift of a vision and as she danced she could feel the beginnings of that foreshadowing awakening in the land. To her would be given a gift to bestow on the worthy, a gift that would cost her everything and was but a step into the fulfillment of her dreams. It was enough for her to be that spark.

The tomb of Darth Malos was as fitting a site as any for it hardly mattered here in the Valley of the Dark Lords; the entire canyon was filled with the power of the dark side, the very structures that time had as yet to erase were situated in such a manner as to amplify the presence of the darkness. Each additional tomb added to the dark well of infinite evil and it felt as though the shrift of all those who had passed on attended the ritual this night.

She could feel the pulsations of the force growing, up welling in waves with a beating pulse the steps of her dance would emulate. The amber and crimson hues of firelight flickered over her form as she danced in serpentine amid the seven maidens assembled for the blood letting. A dozen acolytes kept up the droning chant of the incantations while two of the number kept up a steady beat upon drums stretched with hide, the deep timber of those chants and the steady rumble of the drums resonated within her body as she glorified the night.

The one was near, she could feel their presence though there were two who approached. Let them come, she thought. It was fitting that the one foretold should bring a sacrifice of their own.


@Faded Truth @Narsi

 

[Darth Vrael]

Vrael's face was set into a deep scowl as he marched through the valley, a straight-backed figure in his black armor. Behind him were his two Massassi guards, both bristling and ready for battle with two lightsabers each and marauder armor. As was appropriate considering the situation they were about to intercede in. Vrael himself had come fully prepared for war with all his usual equipment, every fiber of his being itching to use them. Rage curdled within him, raw anger pulsating through him just as it had since he'd first gotten word of this situation. What was with the Sith of today? Already he had to deal with the dissidents in the Imperial Republica, and now more fools like this!

Crusader Marris was waiting at the cavern entrance as expected, to whom Vrael nodded briefly. That was it though, and he then marched right past her into the cavern. The tomb of Darth Malos, that's what this place was. And for the moment, it was more than that, he could sense the gathering power within. The fools within were leeching off the residual strength of the dead Darth, using it and the valley to power their ritual. Well he wasn't going to wait and give them a chance to complete. He wasn't going to tolerate this nonsense under his nose for a moment longer, and he was going to do it himself. Whomever this was going to get exactly what they wanted. The Emperor of the Sith, did not crawl and sneak about on a Sith homeworld.

Entering the cavern, he took out one of his lightsabers, the red blade blazing to life in his hand. Before long it was his only light, that and the force, guiding him forward in its wrathful jubilance. The Massassi did likewise, their own lightsabers ignited behind him as they followed him in. Arianna was likely following as well, and together as a group, they would enter the tomb proper. He first saw the flickering firelight, and then the people seeing by its light. Vrael's gaze immediately narrowed in on the ringleader, the woman who wasn't focused on chanting. The full power of his glare came to bear upon the female, and Vrael's voice boomed across the cavern a moment later. "YOU! STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS NOW AND COME ANSWER FOR YOUR IDIOCY! BEG AT MY FEET AND I MAY ALLOW YOU A QUICK END!"
@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

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Arianna would follow her Dark Lord to the end, the sorceress remaining a bastion of loyalty and strength for the Empire as she wished to purge these heretics from their lands. As they moved through the hollow caverns, she would chant in archaic dathomiri tongue as a void black spear began to manifest and appear in her free hand. The weapon sparkled with green flame and complemented the other hand's red saber quite fashionably.

The crusader entered into the tomb along with the emperor and his bodyguards, shifting to a position several meters to the left of Darth Vrael. Her eyes slowly corroded with dark sided corruption and shifted to a golden hue instead of their natural green; studying the scene around her, attention finally settled upon the ringleader who was not involved in chanting. A vicious snarl coming across her mouth as the emperor addressed them harshly. Fingers rotated to an overhand grip on the shaft of her spear and without warning, hurled it violently towards one of the acolytes busy in their ritual. A single application of force push was delivered, increasing the velocity of the weapon dramatically as it whistled through the air intending to decapitate the fanatic. @Kayenta Moenkopi

Right fist clenched around her saber as the spear was released, drawing the force to her in anticipation of what would occur next. Sadistic smile was always on her lips but well hidden behind the ebony mask.

@Narsi

 

[The Storyteller]

With the interruption of the false emperor and his little witch, they were defiling this place with their filth, and now they were seeking to kill her? Having been halted in her dance by the arrival of those two and their bodyguards, Narsilla slowly turned towards them, her fists clutched tightly together from rage. Oh, the arrogance these two had about them....

She watched as one of her servants was to be struck down by a lackey of the emperor, and felt the rage bubbling within her reach a new peak. "ENOUGH!" Her voice boomed through the tomb, as with a motion of her hands Narsilla would pull the spear out of it's current trajectory and into her hand. There would be a chill flowing through the air, as the woman moved towards the one who had attempted to execute one of her own. She raised a finger towards Arianna, as the acolyte would feel the force begin to move about her. With a great deal of power, Narsilla would attempt to throw the acolyte away from her, then hurl the newly acquired spear towards the woman, hoping to skewer her into the temple floor. The energy of this temple beat like a heart, and Narsilla could feel herself basking in it, though her form was far too imperfect to absorb all that was here. If Arianna had managed to escape that endeavor, then the Acolyte would feel a choking sensation about her neck, as the cold eyes of the mad woman would bare into her. There was no mercy to be found, only sickening, disgusted hatred for the one who had interrupted the dance. The woman's followers went into a frenzy, charging Arianna's allies with little more than clubs and spears. Arianna would be on her own for this fight.
@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

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Arianna was more than capable of defending herself against an unsavory and unprepared cultist who wished to desecrate the Tomb of an ancient Sith Lord. She snarled as her red lightsaber hissed to life in her grip, a moment after seeing her Spear fall into the hands of her enemy. As the force push was thrown at her, she simply pulled the force to her stomach and base, allowing her to absorb the hit and skid back several feet. The weapon came on its heels a moment later, but as her own saber was already ignited she rotated it in sharply into a clockwise arc and deflected the spear away to her lateral right, onto the ground as it clanged away.

Eyes shifted from their natural green to golden hues as Arianna threw her own force push on Narsilla, disrupting her concentration as she felt the tendrils of darkness grip around her neck. Sprinting at full speed, she aimed to close the distance between her adversary and herself, bringing the saber in a horizontal slash at the cultist' chest.

@Algarus