Knight in Matte Armor pt. 2

[Darth Victress]

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MUSTAFAR
​

The fiery planet had a certain symbolic importance, but a far greater practical one. The armors that both Darth Victress and Milo were aiming to craft had to be reforged and the best smiths were those that worked under the scorching pressure of volcanic heat. Pits of lava and ash stormed across the terrain they had found themselves in. The chambers themselves were dark and desolate but yet spoke with certain alchemical powers beyond comprehension. The dead carcass of a few Sith slaves were nearby, a necessary sacrifice to invoke the conduit and power the transformation of the armors.

Inside the room, there was a large central urn with brewing greenish liquid. The armors had been freshly forged and lay to the side while a moderate pool of blood was nearby. The pool was deep enough for either Sith to stand in, but resonated with a darkened vile presence. The blacksmiths had reconstructed both suits, utilizing purified Zersium and durasteel necessary for the force forging techniques. Victress stood near the urn and spoke in ancient Sith dialect, incantations flowing from her lips as the stew began to broil from within and released a steaming cloud of magical mist, sharing the same color affinity as the liquid inside. The ghastly green cloud covered the room as Victress' eyes flashed to yellow and she pulled out what appeared as a shiny, ornate dagger.

She took the blade in her right hand and carved a path in the flash of her left forearm, allowing the blood to drip into the urn. Her attention shifted towards Milo, and offered the dagger towards him, indicating that he too must do the same. She asked, "Are you ready?"

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Milo had not voiced his concerns, but this armor was beginning to cause trouble than it was worth. First, they'd had to fight a group of Mandalorians, a rathtar and other creatures on Darthomir, and now they were standing in between an urn full of greenish liquid and a knee-deep pool of blood, offering their own blood for some sort of ritual. It was far beyond Milo's area of expertise, but he followed along, despite his slight disgust at the pool. It was blood. He was used to the liquid, of course, and had seen and touched it on many occasions, but was not excited to see an entire pool of it. It seemed, above all, unsanitary, but he supposed whatever forces went into setting up this ritual would also prevent them from getting any diseases. Hopefully. The dark side was not known for its consideration.

"I'm ready," he replied, taking the blade confidently and slashing a shallow wound into his left forearm with one uniform swipe. Within seconds, it turned red, and blood dripped out along his skin, falling into the urn below as he reached out his arm. He set the knife down on the floor, hoping they would have no further use for it. Milo turned to Victress, mentally preparing himself—she would likely start chanting or something.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

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Victress smirked, her armored was reforged and laying besides Milo's new suit and thus it allowed the Crusader to glance upon her in her fully beauty. Features visible but definitely corrupted by the invocation of dark sided energies that she had spent the last several years utilizing. She watched as his blood dripped into the urn and instantaneously set off what appeared as a chemical reaction. Heat and smoke exhuming from the center as the fragrance of lavender soaked into the air; it was a pleasant reminder and stark contrast to the echoes of death that lined the cavern around them.

She paused prior to her incantation, glancing at the Crusader's obvious unease in their surroundings. "The arts of dark sorcery take time to familiarize, I trust that such displays are unsettling?" She asked. She paid attention as he would speak but also kept her gaze upon the urn and the task at hand. Her right palm opened towards the center, soaking in the smoke that billowed upwards like a tower of vile magics. She spoke in words of ancient Sith, molding and bending the force to her will as her green eyes shifted completely to yellow and drew upon her mastery of alchemical sciences.

The smoke coiled into the shape of snakes, each latching onto the two force users and Milo would feel the effects of the Drain. It siphoned energy, using his own essence to soak into the construction of the greenish liquid that brew in front of them.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

This was the first time he actually got to see Victress' face in a long time. The last was the funeral on Korriban—an occasion that felt like so long ago it may as well have been another lifetime. Things were much simpler then—his journey into the criminal world was just beginning, and he was a mere Acolyte. Victress was Arianna Maris, a Crusader. Darth Vrael was still alive and ruling. The cavern had felt so full then, so teeming with various Sith—because it was. Their ranks had been bustling with Acolytes. They were now, too, but it was rare to find any decent talent among the faceless trainees. The Empire was growing, but it had felt hollow for so long. Only now it was beginning to spark up again, thanks to Varyn. The last leg of Vrael's rule had seen the Empire stagnate, and that period was slowly drawing to a close.

She spoke, breaking the silence, and Milo had to stifle a laugh. He did such a poor job that he actually smiled—it was his only way of repressing the laughter bubbling within him. Unsettling? If only she knew the things he had seen.

"After you've seen what lies beyond the charted regions, nothing is ever truly unsettling," he replied, a simple sentence that was charged with so much. It told of unknown dangers and the cosmic horror that many feared—it confirmed it. Because what Milo had seen was something many would not be able to handle. It was the reason he was the way he was—the expedition had changed him. It had been years ago, but he still dreamed of it—if those were dreams, and not Him calling to Milo. It was a call he would not answer nevertheless.

His eyes set to her palm as it opened and smoke billowed from it, egged on by the Dark Councilor's chanting. She was speaking ancient Sith, and he actually understood what the woman was saying. Milo watched with a knowing gaze, until something began feeling wrong. It was like something was pulling out his very essence, and it flowed out because he did not resist. The Drast knew this was part of the ritual—at least, he hoped it was—so for once, he trusted Victress. The dark side gave, but it also took—this was likely the "taking" part of the exchange.

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Victress smirked at his comment though the sentiment of amusement was short lived as the green serpent latched onto her flesh and siphoned the force energies as called upon by the ritual she invoked. The drain was moderate and enough for either of the two Sith to feel its aftereffects. Room shuddered lightly with the dark magics Arianna had summoned, wails of tortured souls echoed as ravenous ghosts seeking a chance at revenge. The fluid within the urn boiled and saturated with a heavy, magical stench; brew rose to the top of the metal pot and outflow, bright greenish in color as it reminded Milo of the affinity Victress shared with the nightsister clans.

"It's ready.." she said, motioning for the Crusader to step back as two Sith slaves came to lift the brew and carry it over towards the two armor pieces that were freshly forged and laying on the ground besides them. Liquid mixture was hot and corrosive, protective gear measures were taken by the two men who handled the creation; tilting it over, the fluid drained over the two armor pieces and almost as if magnetically drawn to them, instantaneously coagulated upon hitting their surface. Tendrils grew from the center of the fluid bolus, extended as they covered the armors in entirety and slowly began to seep into the edges and composition of the refined durasteel itself.

It was an interesting sight, one rarely seen by any Sith and Victress had a faint smile on her face. Pulling this off would be beneficial to the both of them, the armors equivalent to the powers of artifact and soon..it would be theirs.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

Milo, to be frank, had no idea what the ritual entailed or what he had just witnessed, but it was undeniably interesting. He watched curiously as slaves continued the process, his eyes setting on the liquid as it immediately blended in with the armor. He could not help but wonder what wearing the armor would feel like—would it be any different to a normal set? Did it smell different? It didn't look out of the ordinary, but he supposed he would find out when he actually tested it.

"What is the next step?" was his simple question. Was there another step? Were they done here?

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Victress sighed, wiping a sweat droplet off her forehead as the ritual they performed came to an end. The siphoning snakes soon vanished, leaving the duo in a mist of ghastly green smog. Slowly though, it would settle at their feet and dissipate into the background. "I'm afraid we still have quite to do.." She said, no over-exaggeration in her tone as the processes of Sith Alchemy were known to be tedious and difficult. However, they had come far and would continue to persevere. She watched as the green fluid merged into the armor and soon dissolved within the shards of fresh metal. She moved over to the two artifact pieces and watched them for a few minutes in silence. To Milo, it may have just appeared like she was having an atonic seizure, standing still but in fact here eyes were carefully scanning for the liquid to properly submerge with the quality of the armor.

A light smile came to her face as she, reaching over to pluck the armor up, she moved it over to the pool of blood and dropped it into the middle. "The sacrifice of the slaves shall serve as a conduit.." She said, motioning for Milo to do the same with his armor. As both armors were placed within, she outstretched her palms and invoked another incantation ritual. Shards of green lightning crackled from the surface of her flesh and into the blood ravine, moving the coagulated liquid as a turbine and allowed the armors to begin swirling. However, her expression lost its touch as the lightning slowly extinguished and the Sorceress took a step backwards...

"Damnit.." She cursed.

@vamp

 

[Darth Parox]

She didn't reply, instead staring at the armor. Milo didn't ask again, assuming she would reply once she was done doing whatever it was she was doing. He was a bit surprised to see her remaining silent, but the Drast didn't intend to repeat his question. He simply stared at her as she stared at the armor. A few minutes passed until she finally snapped out of the trance and said something about slaves. He grabbed his armor, surprised to find it had dried already. Then, the Drast lowered it into the pool of blood, dipping the very tips of his fingers into it. The blood had cooled, and he couldn't decide whether it was more or less disgusting that way.

Red mist hissed as the armor made contact with the blood, vaporizing some of it. He turned to Victress and watched her swirling the liquid around using green lightning. It seemed like she would be mixing forever when the lightning disappeared and she cursed. "Is there a problem?" he asked. She had proven to be less than proficient at many other activities—was her signature area of study the same case?

@Faded Truth

 

[Darth Victress]

.

The sorceress snarled as her lightning extinguished, re-application of the power was doable however it merely sent the cackles into the blood but didn't seemingly have the magical aftereffects that she sought. The cackles glided across the surface the coagulated blood as previously they were absorbed into the bathing liquid. Closing her eyes, she attempted to channel darkness to swirl around her, imbue her with a gift of force and guidance on completion of this ritual. Sighing, continued her meditative focus and shot forth a blast of twisted darkness. The serpent extended from the exposed flesh of her hands and melded itself into the very fabrics of the armor, imbuing alongside the magical properties of the blood bath she had created.

Bubbling sorcery at its finest, the crimson fluid seemingly coated the two armors before slowly dissipating away. Blood vaporized under the powers of the Dark Councilor's spells, leaving only the forced forged suits remaining. Opening her eyes, she smirked, glancing down towards her own as she reached forwards and plucked Milo's breast plate.

"The powers of the dark side flow endlessly through these artifacts now, they are an extension of your will and shall grant you with advantages you have yet to believe.." She said towards the lesser Darth, smirking as she grabbed her own Black Hades, freshly forged with the finest of minerals and now bestowed with unholy blessings.

And so, it began...


// End Thread