Ask Spring Cleaning

[Darth Raze]

The icy planet represented a tangible manifestation of the plane of the Force he had dwelled in since his existence. He felt right at home, the icy chill a welcome embrace. His breath escaped in a fog and he still marveled at the full control he had over this body. There was no Emryc to stop him, no righteous thoughts to add unnecessary complications. He was free. His chains were broken.

He knew the remnants of an old fortress existed on this planet. His first choice had been destroyed, but this one would do if he could restore it. He was resourceful enough to have pinpointed a location, and he made his way over. A blizzard took place, but he easily manipulated it to cut himself a path without concern.

Before long, he could spot the spires and outline of the fortress he desired to call his own. His lips curled in displeasure as he sensed another presence there. He would have to clear out whatever trash still lingered to make the fortress suitable for himself.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou had always loved the cold. There was something about the icy winds, the chills on her dark skin, and the way the air bit her lips when she breathed in that made her feel as if she was right at home. Hoth had that, and the isolation. No masters, no kings, no Sith lords to call her to wage war.

At this point though, she'd been alone for years. Once she'd arrived at this place, she'd slowly gathered all she needed to survive, then cut off contact with the galaxy. In the time since, she'd meditated on the Force, on the holocron, and really essentially been not much other than a hermit. Though she told herself she was just waiting, just biding her time until she would emerge into the galaxy, but who was she kidding? She wanted nothing to do with the galaxy. She wanted to be alone with her research, her books, and her solitude. She had no family - no family she cared to call that anymore - and no friends. She'd left those relationships behind her years ago when she began her solitude. Artorgias was dead. Veles was... somewhere, dead even, perhaps. Cairo, gone. Dead, probably. Ashla... who knew. Malou didn't.

A few days ago, a disturbance was felt in the Force. It put Malou on edge for the entire day, but she'd eventually calmed down. Whatever it was, it wouldn't come here. Surely not.

It turned out she was dead wrong. Malou was deep in meditation, Darth Myslec's holocron open before her as she poured through the scientist's work for the hundredth time, still rifling through contents she'd yet to touch, when she felt that disturbance again. But this time, it was a presence, and it was much closer.

She would meet him on the precipice of the bridge, a tiny figure between towering mountains around her and a bottomless cavern below. He would feel that she saw through the Force, her presence in it watching him from every angle though she still stood a hundred meters away. There was no emotion on her chilled skin, but there was a growing sense of fear and anxiety as the Miralukan released just how powerful a presence the man walking toward her had.

With apprehension biting her tongue, Malou waited in silence for the man to come closer, her fingers grazing the hilt of her sabers under her winter layers.

tag: @Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

It took him a moment, but he vaguely recalled her. Caelestis’ pet. It was simply out of begrudging respect for the late Councilor that Raze didn’t immediately smear her into paste. However, the Force would coil around her and force her down to kneel. Obedience was a constant and no one that wielded the Dark Side would get a pass from kneeling before him.

“You will not be needing that,” The Anzat said icily as his crimson gaze flicked to where her fingers were hovering near the hilt of her saber. There was a crunch as the hilt abruptly shattered right there, the kyber crystal toppling out onto the ice. Through the plane of the Force, she would see his signature - it was jet black and more malicious than anything she had ever witnessed before. He was a true abomination in the Force, a perversion of the darkest manifestations of it.

“What is the state of the fortress?” He asked, his patience already running thin, “And where is Darth Veles?” She was of no significance to him, but perhaps she had a lead. In any case, the quality of her answers would decide whether she died slow or fast. Her fate was already sealed simply by existing here. In his path.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

The man was an abomination in the Force. She was forced to her knees, her lightsaber tossed aside like a discarded aluminum can. She watched him through the Force, a weight in her throat. She was almost at a loss for words, only able to name a single memory that could compare to the per- presence before her. Years ago. That unknown planet. That unbearable weight.

She really had no choice but to answer. "Empty." She'd long rid it of any inhabitants. "The place was abandoned in decent condition. It remains similarly so." She'd made a few repairs, of course, but she was a Sith, not a repairman. "I have left most of the communication technology as-is. It doesn't work."

His second question furrowed her brow under her scarf. Veles. "I don't know." She hadn't spoken to him in years. She'd even attempted to restore his academy on Dagobah, even if it'd been a failure. But even if she did know, she would not have answered. Not that it was a sentiment that likely mattered to anyone other than herself.

Malou shifted uncomfortably in the position she was forced into. She despised being forced to kneel, but she was not powerful enough to resist.

"Why have you come here?"

tag: @Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

He didn’t answer her question. She would learn soon enough to only speak when spoken to. He released his hold on her, taking steps towards her. The Sith walked right past her and towards the fortress. He was fully aware of her and any surprise attacks would be immediately thwarted.

“What is the purpose of your existence here?” He called out without looking back. She had been an accomplished Sith in the past. Why was she wasting away here and disgracing her former Master? He could, of course, extract any answer he wished from her thoughts. However, he didn’t waste energy unless his subjects chose to be insolent, and so far she had been cooperative. He didn’t sense she was lying or deceiving him.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou was quiet for a bit after Raze ignored her question and asked his own. It was a difficult question because a truly honest answer meant she would have to be honest with herself. And to be honest with herself, she... well, she had to figure that one out.

"...study." It was true enough, and truth be told, she didn't exactly want to be any more specific. "I prefer isolation to the company of other Sith."

Still tense from the hold, Malou did not move until after he passed her by. Slowly she stood up, smoothing out her winter robes as she did, irritation jerking the movement in her hands. She hated that she was too weak to resist. If she'd really come here to study, to meditate, and grow stronger, then why wasn't she? And who the hell was this?

"Why have you come here?" she repeated still facing away from him as he walked toward the castle. "Who are you?" Something about him felt vaguely familiar, like a passing stranger she'd seen before might, but she had never looked at this person before. She would certainly remember.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

He could relate to finding most company unappealing. He was still on the fence about how he felt about Emryc being gone entirely, though so far it had been liberating.

When she questioned him yet again, he stopped walking. She had her chance to learn and adapt, and she failed. The Anzat slowly turned to face the girl, the Dark Side of the Force swirling through him. Without warning, she would abruptly feel the Force compress and freeze her where she stood. She would then be yanked directly towards him.

His face changed then, tentacles sprouting from flaps on the sides of his nose. She would be completely paralyzed as the tentacles thrust up through her nose and through the openings in her eyes and mouth. She would feel every bit of it and be unable to move a single muscle. He feasted to his heart’s content, drawing out her mind both physically and mentally. He drank in her essence in the Force, caught glimpses of her memories, her fears, her aspirations back when she had them. He drank until he had his fill, her physical form shriveling up into an empty husk and virtually unrecognizable.

Without a second thought, he tossed her over the side of the bridge and into the chasm below.

The tentacles drew back into his face, so he looked humanoid again. The Sith exhaled in contentment before he turned around and carried on as usual, preparing to shape the fortress to his needs.

@lizziie