Ask Drama Kings

[Vossari Khaldun]

Months had passed since Vossari and Azar's fateful trip to Wrea. Vossari had hoped for simplicity - a nice dinner with his dad, a way to amend their doomed relationship. What he had found was...complicating. His father demonstrated that he was a blood sorcerer, and that his long-dead mother was one of the most powerful women on Wrea. Papa Khaldun warned his son of the enemies the Khaldun family has faced over the years - warned that they still lived and would kill them both.

The question of whether Wrean assassins could ever hope of damaging a Sith Lord aside, Vossari rejected it. He left his dad, with Azar, at the bottom of the sea. The passing months between were unkind. The Sith had failed an invasion on Ithor, resulting in the passing of Karys. Azar had changed since that day, naturally. They had both become more reclusive in the past months, Vossari wrapped in his studies of Wrea as he tried to finally close the chapters of his many schemes across Dromuund Kaas, Manaan, Saleucami, Aargau, and any other planet. The stress was getting to him - he was near plucking out his hair.

In times of great internal conflict, he always turned to Azar. He hoped that today would be no different.

____________________________________________

A droid-piloted ferry dropped off Vossari to King Arcanos's palace, burning hot into the bright sun of a Korribani day. Voss wore a simple outfit, consisting of a locally-made cotton pants with Wrean accoutrements. Days spent wandering Murzana's crowded streets gave him small insights into the multifaceted culture of the true blooded Sith, the progenitors of their Order. He knew that their proud people survived years of hardship through strength and tradition. And now, with King Arcanos's rule, merchants on the streets clamored to speak of a new Golden Age for the Korribani peoples.

Voss loved to linger by the pools of his palace's oasis, but today called for something different. He sought out Azar's marvelous study, with a thick, leather-bound tome in hand. He hoped to find his love there, as he imagined: Hard at work, experimenting, stressing.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar was terrible in the way he mourned the loss of Karys. Instead of leaning into others that cared about him, he grew reclusive and shut himself in. He distanced himself from both Vossari and Trael for some time after aggressively demanding that they both refuse to take on other lovers. He thought about that ultimatum a lot, pondering on the hypocrisy and the paranoia wondering if his partners could truly love him anymore. He agonized over his internal insecurities while the Arcanos side of him scoffed at such a thought.

Day by day, the grief got easier to manage. He buried himself in the duties of a Sith Lord managing a Sith Order with an absentee leader. He also leaned into his role as a King, governing the everyday affairs of Korriban and listening to grievances brought up by city and village leaders one by one. He promised himself he would be a just king, and it meant harboring a tremendous amount of patience to listen to petty people and their silly problems.

Today was a rare day where Azar could take time for himself. He found himself in his study - which could be considered an entire library for the sheer amount of books and tomes he had collected. Once Vossari arrived, he would find Azar in the upper level with a portal as tall as himself churning before him. It was Azar practicing weaving again, this time glimpsing into the city of Ur. If he stepped through, he would find himself in the city right away.

The Pureblood glanced over when Vossari approached, the portal disappearing from the break in focus. Sweat lined Azar’s entire body from the severe strain that weaving took.

“Darling!” He called out, genuinely thrilled to see his partner after being apart for a while. Azar took a step forth before disappearing into a cloud. He materialized on the ground level right next to Vossari moments later, entirely too lazy to climb down the staircase. Azar tugged the Wrean into a tight, sweaty embrace before stepping back with a giggle, “Sorry, I’ve been getting a workout practicing weaving,” He said as he glanced up at his love, “I didn’t know you were coming. I would have had a feast prepared,” He said with a pout, “..Including those infernal clams," He added in an undertone.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Vossari saw his lover's smile first. Then the sweat, the body aches, the stress lines that were starting to form on his perfect, crimson skin. Vossari's arms wrapped around his sweat-soaked lover, and with a whisk of his fingers, the sweat was wiped away. The Wrean pulled the Sith into a long, delicate kiss, to make up for lost time. He held Azar, firmly, so that the pureblood king could finally melt into his arms.

"You've been hard at work lately, dear partner." Voss thought back to Murzana - the last time he had seen his lover so sweat-soaked. Well, outside the bedroom, of course. He remembered the salty taste of his kiss on the desert battlefield, the fear in Azar's eyes when it seemed that the battle would be lost. "You can take off the armor with me." Set down the crown, King. Your Wrean has arrived.

He giggled at the comments of a feast. "I wouldn't want to put you through such effort, princess. Besides, it's you who needs to feast." The thought of clams tempted him, but the last trip to Wrea ended on a sour personal note, which, in turn, soured the thought of big, nasty clams.

Vossari hemmed and hawed for a moment after they separated from their embrace, withdrawing a heavy, leather-bound tome from his person. "I, uh, got this for you. A while ago. Never found the right moment to give it to you." Arcanos may recognize the name Gnos of the Kressh's great lineage on Athiss, where their family also once ruled.

Vossari's eyes looked on nervously and expectantly. "It's cool if you don't like it, I know it's a little on-the-nose and not super creative...." He put a hand up to nervously scratch at his temple.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar melted into that kiss, forgetting about what he was doing for a while. He savored that familiar taste, the sensations that always grounded him to a place he found so comfortable, a place that always felt like home no matter where he was. It existed in the form of Vossari’s arms around him, and he sank against his Wrean sanctuary, closing his eyes.

“The armor binds to my flesh more and more each day,” Azar mumbled quietly with his face pressed against Vossari’s shoulder. The light concern was unmistakable in his tone before he finally drew back. Azar eyed Vossari curiously while he shifted in place and seemed mentally preoccupied. His questions were answered when he retrieved a tome.

Azar began to rifle through it, his eyes widening as he began to realize what it was, “Where-how-...what?” He blurted incoherently, staring in complete disbelief as he skimmed through the pages, “How did you get this? Where?” He asked as his gaze flicked up to meet the Wrean’s.

He caught Vossari’s nervousness and smiled warmly in turn, “I love it, little fish,” Azar said before leaning up to steal a kiss, “I intend to write something like this myself,” He admitted, “It will cover the depths of blood magic, alchemy and even weaving,” Azar explained, “I have been experimenting with transmutation pertaining to the elements. I’m almost done crafting something similar to arcridia..but for pyromancy,” He said as his face lit up with excitement. The tired smile betrayed that it was a strenuous effort to create these artifacts and each time it took a huge toll on him. But he was ready to overcome those hurdles to fashion gifts for the men he cherished.

Azar gently placed the tome in a section with his most prized collection of tomes, a place where he drew inspiration to craft his own work.

“There is something I wished to ask you,” He said as he turned to regard Vossari, “I want to bring the desert tribes to the fold. I am King of the great cities, but the desert remains an unruly and disjointed force that can always threaten my rule,” He explained, “In an effort to try diplomacy I thought to fashion an oasis in the desert where none exists today. Nothing is as valuable to them as water. Only you can conjure water from nothing…but the journey will be through the desert and could be harrowing for you,” Azar sighed, “Can I dare to ask this of you, my love? Will you ride with me through the dunes?”

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Voss smiled at Azar's joy towards his gift. It was always clear that Arcanos would live up to, nay, surpass his ancestors. He realized it from that climactic moment on Tund - when Azar summoned his ancestors from his blood to defeat the wicked sorceress that ruled the fortress. Azar was certainly of the line of conquerors that came before him, yet there existed more. Azar was, like himself, multifaceted; imposing, dramatic, tender, vicious...all these in one King. Vossari loved Azar's unyielding ambition, but he couldn't lie...just seeing a genuine smile on Azar's face was worth its weight in peggats.

"Your tome will be even greater, I'm sure. Maybe you can write an e-book, though. The calligraphy on the Ur-Kittat alone must have taken years..." Or, a literate servant who wrote the calligraphy on behalf of Elder Gnos. Either way, not as easy as typing, in Voss's eyes! "Acridia was the perfect gift." Voss ran a finger through a lock of Azar's hair as they contemplated. "It completely changes the nature of water, and its only limit is the user's creativity. I'm looking forward to one that breathes fire." For Trael, perhaps? Azar only poured himself into these artifacts for those he really cared about. He wouldn't ask, or waste time with jealousy today. He just wanted to appreciate the time he had with Lord Arcanos.

"It's a brilliant idea, giving them access to what they most need. If the desert tribes are able to be self sufficient, with your aid, it's unlikely they'll ever come to bother you." Those brave nomads of the desert lived a harsh life within the desert - if they were made into allies, the whole of the planet would belong to Azar. The cities and the trade routes that connect

"I have some thoughts. We could introduce moisture vaporators..." Voss wasn't sure that Azar, as helpless with tech as he is, would know what that was. "Big tower machines that pull water out of the air." It would be a simple enough solution - just give them the technology they need to pull water.

"We could, of course, build Oases across the desert. Artificially importing water would have negative long-term impacts on the land, and the desert tribes may resent such a giant gesture." It could disrupt the tersely-balanced ecology of Korriban's deserts. Even the giant, evil worms had a role to play in an ecosystem.

"Or...I could teach the Kissai of their tribes how to do it." Vossari strained as he pulled a hand in front of him, pulling water in from the atmosphere to create a tiny ball in front of it. "The Kissai are already your most natural allies, and magic may be less disruptive than advanced technology." Voss shrugged as he continued to ruminate on all the options. "It's a brilliant idea though, Azar. I've been practicing my Ur-Kittat, too. This'll be a great chance to put it to work." He beamed at the thought of him and Azar on another adventure.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Arcanos]

Azar only smiled warmly as Vossari rattled off all his ideas, his excitement infectious. He couldn’t help but chuckle, “I have concocted a serum for you so you don’t have to keep moisturizing in the desert,” Azar explained. As he thought about the moisture farming angle, he considered a few variables, “That’s what they use on Tatooine, yes?” He asked, never having been to Tatooine exactly, “There are entire industries around it..if the desert tribes could find honest work, that would certain help things and boost our economy.”

The Pureblood hadn’t even thought of something like moisture farming, but it sounded brilliant. Of course it did, it came from Vossari.

Before long, there was a line of transports set up like a caravan to travel across the dunes. They were flanked by marching grotthu and Massassi as Azar knew the chances of being raided or attacked were high.

The two were in a speeder with a canopy with the carriage modified to be fitted with plush pillows and cushions. There was a constant supply of wine and snacks. After all, Azar was a king and he and his beloved would enjoy all the luxuries that came with it.

“You will not be able to teach them hydromancy the way you conjure it,” He mused aloud as he nibbled on some fruits. He reached over with some grapes to feed Vossari, “Only Wrean can procure moisture from nothing. At minimum there would need to be reservoirs to draw from and the tribes could get greedy. Teaching them something like moisture farming has far better long term benefits.”

Azar pondered for a moment, “I have connections with this.. Nor’baal the Hutt,” He explained, “I could set up a trade agreement to have moisture farming equipment and factories set up here in exchange for some of our minerals. Or unfettered access towards Imperial territory,” He added with a smirk.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Vossari Khaldun]

Voss lounged in the comfort of Azar's carriage as they moved. Accompanying the assortment of fruits was piping hot cups of tea in beautiful, locally-made glass teacups. Vossari sipped a minty, yet spicy, cup of tea with a slice of fruit as he considered Azar's proposal. Closer trade deals with Nor'baal the Hutt was a risky move, one that would catapult Azar and Korriban to the center of their Cold War with the Empire. "Unfettered access to Imperial territory would be...Well, 'game-changing' doesn't quite describe the impact." How would the Imperials take to Sith lounging about in their space? Would it be worth the risk? It'd certainly be an entertaining way to roll the dice.

"Only Wreans can? You mean, your Kissai can't at all?" This was something Azar had communicated before, but only now was the depth of meaning sinking in to Voss's mind. Hydromancy really was his - a demonstration of his unique power on the bone-dry desert would certainly be a display of Azar's command over life and death on Korriban. "Moisture vaporators it is. It'll allow them to grow food, have a constant supply of fresh water..."

"I imagine you have a contact in the tribes we're visiting now?" Voss had heard tale about the fiasco in the desert on the way to Murzana, with the massive dune worm's attack. "And...uh...this stretch of desert is worm-free, right?"

Vossari set down his tea and drank some deep, thick wine as he considered their approach. The desert spread in front of them, vast and beautiful in the light of the sun. Yet, terribly, terribly hot. "How do you apply that serum?" He wiggled an eyebrow. "Massage?"

@Sreeya