Ask Serenno Red Tiles

[Darth Caelestis]

The salty sea air filled his lungs as the waves folded in on him, the wind was light, the sun was warm, bird chirped from the sky and cliffs around him. The water splashed up against the private boat as it glided across deep blue water, Artorigas could only smile as he looked at the beauty around him, from the majesty of the Darth Andruil's new castle high above, to the sweeping splendour of nature all around. The warm summer sun was a stark contrast to the cold winter settling in around Castle Wessex on the Northern continent. It was a shame then that his mood was more fitting of the cold snow of the North than the vibrant Sun above him.

He had been awaiting this summon, although Artorigas knew his actions were true and his intentions nothing but honest and loyal. Many had misread his movements as hostile to their Empress, even to the point two Darth's had stepped up to stop him. Artorigas bit his lip as the memories hazily came back to him of that night, whenever the Wretchedness took control his memory became fuzzy. Standing near the centre of the boat he rocked with it from side to side as it moved up alongside the small harbour beneath the towering castle. Ropes were thrown from the ship, workers of all shapes and sizes ran to grab them securing the boat to the side as quickly as possible. Although he felt weak and helpless inside, to those outside he was still a Sith Lord. Fear lanced through them at what would happen if they displeased him, but if they slipped or tied the wrong knot, he would not notice, his eyes glued to the steps leading him towards the Castle.

A small gangplank was placed alongside the ship allowing him to easily step off and reach dry land, his body used to the sway of the boat struggled to walk straight for a moment before he finally grabbed control and made for the stairs. He saw attendants in the distance making their way up into the castle, announcing his arrival to their mistress he assumed. The climb was long and with the added heat of the midday sun he was sweating slightly as he reached the internal gardens of the Castle.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

As was typical of her, Renfry wouldn't be found in the throne room, but in the garden area. Nightsisters practiced their craft in a far corner and a small group of Sith were there as well. Guards patrolled the upper walls, but Renfry was oblivious to all of them. She knew what this meeting was about ands he could sense Art's presence before she saw him.

Sitting on a bench, she waved him over as he approached. Her demeanor didn't seem to betray anger or frustration at all, though one could never be certain to what extent that face was reality.

The activity of the party was still quite fresh in her mind, and she already had a pretty good idea of what had happened from the various sources she had spoken to, but she still waited to see what he had to say about it.

How're you feeling? she asked as he approached, scooting over to make room on the bench next to her.

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Artorigas gazed across the luscious gardens which made up the centre of the Castle. From the little he understood of the Sith Empress she enjoyed living things, so to find her surrounded by greenery was not a surprise. When she waved him over he took a half step, pausing as the memories of the party washed over him again. It was stupid this time he was being summoned over by the women, but something deep down inside made him doubt if walking towards her was the right choice.

Biting down on air, he pushed through although she probably noticed his pause it was hopefully not too long to cause her any concern. Andruil appeared like her normal self, her face not betraying her inner emotions, Artorigas wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. She motioned next for him to sit on the bench next to her, his eyes switched between the empty seat and the women offering it eventually declining the offer.

There was still a little bit of shame inside him, not for what he had done, if The Eternal walked through those doors right now he would do the same. But shame that he had lost control, fell into the Wretchedness, had caused harm to those around him and pushed doubt into peoples minds. And that shame, along with a good deal of hammered in manners forbade him from sitting next to his Empress.

"Good Day Mi'Empress." He began bowing his head to the seated women. "I am fine, tired, there is much to do." He replied, Artorigas knew that was not the answer she was looking for. But he had broken once in the previous week whilst talking to Raze he didn't feel like breaking again, not right now. "And yourself?" It was all awkward pleasantries and smiles, until one of them took the plunge.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She looked up at him and the way he looked hesitant. The way he didn't sit down next to her. The way he gave her a very formal introduction. Still she didn't seem to be angry with him.

Fine, but this is all very stiff, isn't it? she said with a quirked eyebrow. You'd think we'd never met before, she quipped.

So, is it your old Sith Lord friend or something new? she asked, always one for ripping bandaids off directly. She had a fairly solid idea of what had happened that night, but she also knew of his secret old struggle with a Sith Lord lingering in his mind. Whether it was that or something else would be informative to her and the question left the door open for him to expand as he saw fit.

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

She was direct and too the point, it was part of the reason they got on. Like Raze she saw through his stiff nature and upbringing, the always at arms length approach to people and pushed through. He gave her a warm smile as she spoke about his stiffness and he tried to relax his posture a little but still refused to sit, at least for now.

"No, Andros is long gone from this plane." He replied speaking of the ancient Sith Lord. "Its..." He paused not because it was hard to say what it was but hard to explain. How could he tell the Empress of the Sith, probably the most powerful Dark Side user in the galaxy, that what happened that night was the result of him rejecting the Dark Side. The Wretchedness was the built up presence of the darkness inside him, compressed and magnified after years of rejection. "Its, the part of the Dark Side I refuse to accept. Or give into, the part that turns us into mindless servants of chaos and destruction." He chewed his lip, wondering if he should explain more or not, after a moment he decided to put it all out there and see what would happen. Worse comes to worse she would have his head instead of Xeno.

"As you know Mi'Empress I do not hold the Dark Side in high esteem, I use it sparingly preferring my words and actions to tapping into that well of darkness. But it is always there deep down in the back of my mind, slowly crawling its way to the surface. Every moment I spend on Exegol, Korriban, Moraband it moves quicker, when I stand in the presence of Lord Raze, Stolas or even yourself I can feel it begging to be let out." It seemed as if the flow of words had relaxed his manner and without thinking about it, he had taken the seat, although his eyes were forward looking out into the garden away from the Empress'.

"Every day I resit, it gets angrier, more powerful. But I control it, keep it far away from the surface, but that night in the presence of Stolas, Raze, you and finally that mask, it made its move. It barbed me, poked me, provoked and tormented me until I gave in. For I know even as I resit it how much strength it can give me. And it made me want it, need that power. So I gave in."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She listened with a relatively expressionless face to what he said. She knew that he had struggled with this topic for as long as she had known him, and it didn't seem to be resolving itself. It wasn't that she never struggled with these types of things, but the Nightsisters access the Force in a way that was quite different than any Sith.

She knew that there were others within the Sith who viewed the Dark Side with the same suspicion he did. She tapped her fingers rhythmically against the bench as she thought about what he said.

The mask doesn't bring out the best in people, she said. She thought back to what Emryc had told her about his view of the events, far more to Art's credit than he would likely ever realize.

And if Raze hadn't stepped in what would you have done? she asked him directly. How do you intend to hedge its power within yourself or do you at all?

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

He agreed that mask was a vile thing, if he had the chance the next time he saw it, both it and its wearer would be destroyed. Removing that thing from the galaxy was the best thing he could do right about now for every living soul. He gritted his teeth slightly at the thought of the destruction of that thing, before Andruil's pointed question brought him back into the present.

"I would have removed The Eternal from my Castle." He knew that it probably would have been a loosing effort, maybe another Sith would have stepped on his side to help even the odds, but that presence gave out such a putrid essence it needed to be dealt with. "It was a threat and as I said on the night, I have the right to defend my home and all those that reside within it." The darkness had not taken hold of him until after Raze had stepped in to stop him, not until the Wretchedness had used the man's history against Artorigas.

The question on how he would keep it contained in the future was harder to answer, for he did not know. "That is something I intend to work on. Though I don't believe it will be a quick solution." He finished and turned to face the Empress of the Sith for the first time since he sat down. His face was tired, his eyes had dark patches beneath him, the past days had taken a toll on the Sith Noble. "What do you intend to do with The Eternal?" He said his voice rather stern, if she intended to end them, Artorigas would be the first to offer his blade.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She nodded and then took in a very deep breath, letting her head roll back so that she could look at the sky above. Mostly clear but dotted with fluffy white clouds, it was far, far different from Dathomir and yet in many ways far more lovely, though she couldn't believe she was thinking that.

It never is a quick solution, but it is the most important piece of moving up through the ranks of the Sith, she said. While many Sith down through history would disagree with her, she was of the opinion that while anger made you stronger, blind rage that crushed everything in its path was a weakness. Balancing on the razor's edge between the two was what made a Sith truly great. Most never found that balance.

I'm still determining what to do with the Eternal, she said. For the time being it is not posing a threat, but if that changes it will be eliminated, she said. That was a last resort as far as she was concerned. She knew who was under the mask and she didn't really want to hurt Tiamat. If she could find any other solution that didn't see either her friend or the Empire destroyed, she was take it. Thoughts on the topic still bounced through her mind, but were yet to come to fruition.

 

[Darth Caelestis]

Artorigas looked on as she looked up into the blue sky, his eyes fixed upon her pale skin, drawn to her neck and jawline, following it up to rest upon her yellow green eyes. "Well I hope you can guide me in the future, Mi'Empress." He replied, Andruil seemed to have not only a strong grasp of the Dark Side but a seemingly complete control over the negative aspects of its pull. Pulling his eyes quickly away before he was caught staring, turning to view one of the nearby flower beds.

"As always, I am here if you need me, to eliminated them." He replied sternly, Artorigas would be far happier if The Eternal was removed from the galaxy and delighted if it was him who was able to do it. They sat in silence for a moment, his eyes wondering over the flower bed, the white and gold of Orchid's, deep red Roses, light pink Dahlia's and the purple and white Iris'. It was a little piece of tranquillity in the torrent of madness swirling around him in the aftermath of the party.

As he continued to look over the plants he let out a deep breath, although she had not said it outright it seemed Andruil did not believe the false accusations of Xeno and others. A weight left his shoulders, his mind eased and his body finally relaxed, the tense uptight posture of the King fell away, his shoulders slumped slightly, he slunk down on the bench and rubbed his eyes. The night before had been sleepless, his mind running through the countless possibilities that could come from this conversation, execution, banishment, humiliation, demotion, Avillion and Serenno taken from him. Every dream was a nightmare, the only light being Cornelia's protection with Raze. But without a word Andruil had banished those nightmares from his mind.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Did you ever wonder why the Eternal always comes back? she asked him, letting him ponder for a moment before she spoke again, I don't think it's as simple as just killing the wearer. I could kill the body and what then? she said. It was one of the many issues that arose when dealing with the Eternal. It needed to be corralled and controlled, not simply killed.

She saw him looking over to the flowers and her eyes followed. She had started looking into flowers for herself, many things that didn't grow on Dathomir.

You know, they say that Jedi can make plants grow through the power of the Force, she said. It's one of the things I actually envy about them, she said, absentminded as she did.

It was just a thought that popped into her head more so than something of actual "value." But as she looked over at him, he seemed almost relaxed maybe for the first time since she had met him.

I've just been having to grow them the old-fashioned way. My magick doesn't seem to quite extend to plant growth, she said with almost a laugh.

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

When they had first met long ago back on that dreaded jungle world, he had little knowledge of the Sith, their history and their legends. But since then Artorigas had gone on to study the orders past, especially the artefacts which had shaped the history of their order and the Galaxy. The Mask was one such object he had spent time delving into, once again the vaults and databanks of Exegol had been a invaluable resource, Darth Sidious had sought the mask like most other artefacts steeped in the Dark Side of The Force.

"Stab a lightsaber through it and shoot it into the sun." He replied back dryly. It was not the most elegant of answers or solutions but he was confident the brutal nature of it would succeed, if it didn't then they would never be rid of the cursed item. Artorigas glanced back at her as she spoke about the flowers a smile appearing on his face as she laughed.

"Sometimes I prefer life without The Force." He said before standing from the bench and taking a few short strides towards the flower bed, bending down to take a closer look at the plant. Reaching out he lifted one of the red roses heads, beneath it sat a dozen green aphid's. Pulling The Force inside his body he created a small blast of wind that pulled around the stem of the rose, little green insects flying off all directions leaving the rose free of the parasite. As he let go of the rose he let out a little laugh, 'Sith could also garden with The Force,' he thought to himself.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry looked down at her hands as he mentinoed life being better without the Force. That was a sentiment that she wholly did not understand. Perhaps it would be simpler, but the Force was as privilege and a gift. Among her people it was sacred, and her ability to wield it was why she was where she was today.

Not me, she said after a moment. It's as much a part of who I am as my ears or eyes, she said. She wouldn't want to live without the Force. She wasn't even sure what she would do if she lost her connection.

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

He was not surprised at her answer, if he was honest he would have been more surprised if she had agreed with him. Many of his brethren lived and breathed The Force to them it was everything. "I came into the power later in my life. Perhaps that is why I see it differently." His powers had only manifested around his twentieth birthday, he had less than a decade with this mystical power and much of it had been more that luxurious.

Artorigas continued to watch over the flowers, his body and mind where still for the first time since he had received her summons. Perhaps it was that release, or the swinging sword of mortality which had been dangling ever so close to his neck as of yet that pulled down some of the prim and proper walls that stopped the Sith Noble from doing anything that wasn't 'Correct'. "Mi'Empress, no Renfry, why don't we take the boat out. Get away from Castles and Guards. I may be dead before the end of the week and I would love to see more of the Burgandian Coast. Would you join me?"

@Phoenix