Ask To Have Fallen So Far

[Sah'ra Ryun]

Ambience
​

What was once the penthouse Sah'ra had called home had remained vacant for years. Dust settled on every surface, cobwebs building up in the corners and under furniture. These facts aside, it remained much as she had remembered. Volumes of historical collections still resided on shelves or lay open on the desk in the den. As she approached it, she was even able to recall the chapter she had been examining before the hurried rush to escape Imperial space. A single porcelain finger gently traced along the dry paper as she made her way around the desk, her eyes lingering on the phrases and translations she had transcribed.

Years had passed since she flipped through those pages but they had proven fruitful, leading her to a far vaster pool of ancient knowledge. Knowledge that, in time, could aide her in restoring her physical form to what it once was rather than the warped appearance she now bore. Slowly her eyes slid from the pages to her own hand, teeth gritting behind pursed lips at what she saw.

Her brother finally arrived with the crates of tomes and historical collections she had claimed from within the library on Krayiss II, Sah'ra turning to him with a scowl to his back. The big lumbering oaf, hung over and depressed since losing his son. Where once Tren had been an asset, he was quickly proving to have expended his usefulness. She needed new muscle, someone she could rely on to further her goals.

”This is enough. You may leave me now, brother,” Sah'ra said softly, placing a sympathetic hand on Tren's shoulder whilst offering him a kind smile. Sad eyes turned back to her, followed by a nod as he departed. With the door sliding shut behind him, the smile faded.

For hours, she flipped through pages in search of answers. She had the capacity to project herself as whole but she craved a more permanent solution. One that could potentially prolong her life. Finally she stumbled across something that offered promises but that was only the beginning. She still needed someone for the mundane tasks that were below someone of her stature.

The answer had been before her all along, only now coming to the forefront. Closing her eyes, Sah'ra reached out through their bond, searching for her, but there was nothing. Every call to the void was met with silence, yet she could not believe her to be dead.

****************************************************​

Days passed, the penthouse returning to it's former immaculate state it had been during Sah'ra's permanent residency, and she had found her answer. What had become of her. Perhaps death would have been more kind than the reality of her situation but it presented Sah'ra an opportunity.

Getting word to the woman was a challenge but now Sah'ra need only to wait, sat upon her sofa and gazing out the window as rain pelted the glass. A glass of red wine rested in her hands, the bottle and a second glass waiting on the table. Once her guest arrived, she would see Sah'ra as she remembered her, free of scars and imperfections, wearing attire that fit to her aesthetic. She need only wait she reminded herself, smiling behind the rim of her glass.

@Xorism​

 

[Nevizkas]

The Sith had long since given up searching for Master Ryun, in some ways content to consign her folly to adventure as the act of a novice pitted against a danger far greater than her imagination. But not Cyutadakyr. The bond they shared impored the pureblood to hold out hope that one day her would return so that the pair could continue their work.

It was almost ironic, then, that in her absence, Cyutadakyr had not only caught up but surpassed Master Ryun in both knowledge and power. The might of alchemy, unlocked by trial and error, by the hand of Azar was a skill she retained through the recent trauma. Despite being stripped of her power and connection to the force, assets and all else, her mind remained. The devious, conniving planner lay locked away and buried under the mountain of pain and suffering she had been forced to bear as punishment.

How one master lay buried in a mountain, another did so too.

Wearing simple black robes that hid her form well, the pureblood made her way to meet the Masters call with a solemn silence. By now, Sah'ra would have heard of the events on Thule and what had happened. The embarrassing fall would probably be amusing for the likes of her, but Nevizkas kept her gaze low and muted, awaiting a call to enter.

@Tulos

 

[Sah'ra Ryun]

As Sah'ra continued to watch the seemingly never ending storm that encompassed Kaas City from her seat, she could sense her approach. Pain rolled off her shoulders in tidal proportions, be it physical or spiritual, and washed away much of who the Sith Master had once known. In her place was something still familiar, yet also entirely new.

”Surely you know to work a door,” Sah'ra called out to the Pureblood, continuing to stare through the pane of glass before taking a sip of wine from her cup. Or perhaps they had taken that from her as well? They had taken everything else she held dear; why stop there?

Only when her guest had entered did Sah'ra break her trance of watching lightning and rain, though her eyes never shifted. This woman was one who had held such promise, only to be broken down and cast at the feet of... what was it? Her lover? Yes, that was it.

“The child,” she continued softly, observing a singular droplet of rain descend the glass like a tear on a mother's cheek. There was no point in pretending she was not aware of what had transpired. She could sense the thing, growing and developing within her womb. After everything it's mother had endured, Sah'ra could not help but wonder what sort of wretched monster it had the potential to become. Finally, Sah'ra turned her head to face the Pureblood. “It will live?”

@Xorism​

 

[Nevizkas]

Reaching out to push the door ajar and thus enter softly, the pureblood woman finally spotted the one that had eluded her in the past. Sah'ra had been there for her earlier in the woman's career, a push and a shove here or there to bring her along before disappearing into the ether one day.

Like a bullseye, Master Ryun focused in on her vulnerability as she posed a pointed question about her child. Pausing for a moment, the pureblood nodded. "It will not die by my hand."

Her raspy voice, damage still slowly repairing, echoed. It wasn't something that she particularly liked to think about, but it was one of those things you couldn't avoid. Most in the order wouldn't care either way, but others could easily see the child as a threat or a loose end to remove.

And she'd be practically powerless to stop them.

@Tulos

 

[Sah'ra Ryun]

Seeing her in this state, broken down and beaten like a stray dog, was enough to make Sah'ra sick. The once proud and capable woman was a fraction of what she once was. A diminished candle blown out by the winds of fate.

Pathetic.

Her facial features never betrayed her innermost musings, however. Cyu could not sense her thoughts and their bond was destroyed. All she would see was the eyes of a sympathetic woman, motioning for her to come and sit.

“Good,” she replied simply. “If nothing else, it will give you something to live for,”

Undoubtedly, she had questions for Sah'ra as well but until they were brought to air, her focus would remain on the Pureblood.

“Have you any plans to restore yourself?”

She couldn't believe that she would allow herself to remain in this state. To be so hollow, so devoid of what made her who she once was. It was clear that Sah'ra could not help the Pureblood by decree of the Dark Lord, and she held no intention on doing so, but she needed to know if the woman truly was irreparable or if she could yet harbor some potential uses.

Between her brother and the Pureblood, it seemed they both were in need of finding a new path. A path, Sah'ra hoped, that could be manipulated to her own benefit.

@Xorism​

 

[Nevizkas]

Sah'ra was just the very woman that Navi remembered, which meant the whole package and not just the smiling assassin sitting before her. With the ultimate decree handed down by their dark lord, she had to remain careful how she spoke next. In truth, she hadn't exactly been flush with ideas of the future beyond immediate survival, all things considered she was worse off than the day she arrived at the order.

"Such plans should not be shared." She quietly said, the strongest hint of defiance she had shown since the incident. The fact that the pureblood hadn't been entirely exiled from the order suggested that there was still a chance to return to the dark lord's graces. But to reach that point would require a significant effort from the relatively powerless woman and a shift in gears to realign herself to the new situation.

If Cyutadakyr returned, it would be without the flaws of her predecessor.

Though she was not entirely dwelling upon her new station as she glanced toward Sah'ra, remembering their past. "I never doubted your return like the others."

@Tulos

 

[Sah'ra Ryun]

For the briefest moment, Sah'ra caught a glimpse of the woman she had once known. Her tone, her body language, had shifted to something familiar and had sparked the same sense of annoyance it had in the past when the two had spoken. It seemed that there was still hope for her to climb back from her despair.

Sah'ra knew she could demand anything of the woman and she would be forced to oblige. Such was her standing, her current lot in life. Yet barking orders at the woman was counter productive to what she wished to accomplish, instead requiring a more delicate sense of maneuvering.

“Wise of you, Nevizkas,” Sah'ra responded calmly, her tone cordial, though the use of her new moniker was not one used lightly. A gentle reminder. “Some secrets are best held close to chest,”

“I appreciate your candor,” she continued. Recollecting Arkania, of her own near demise, stoked a kernel of anger within. At herself for not foreseeing what had struck her in the storms. For not being able to prevent falling into the frozen lake that wreaked havoc across her body. For not being able to return sooner. “Though my incident has caused a considerable amount of complications. It is, in part, why I have summoned you here. I believe you could be of use to me,”

Sah'ra stood, motioning for the Pureblood to remain seated, as she moved to collect the tome she had been studying prior to her arrival. Returning to her guest, Sah'ra sat herself beside Nevizkas and gently laid the book on the table before them. Her attention returned to the woman, looking her over and analyzing her condition.

“If you believe you are capable of the challenge, of course,” she added finally. Though the words remained soft, her eyes flickered with a sense of daring, lips turning upward with a devilish smirk.

@Xorism​

 

[Nevizkas]

One did not have to remind her of the importance of secrets, with the threat of death lingering upon her shoulder. One false move and there would be no recovery, no revenge or deliverance of her name. Even if such a road would be long and full of troubles.

It was not expected that the visit would be a social one, with the master being a known pragmatist. That said, Nevi could neither hardly refuse her request, nor would she likely wish to. Even their good relationship from prior would earn her this, but alas. To curry favour and produce accolades for others was now her duty.

Taking a seat, she held her gaze to the watchful Sith Master. "My capability is yours to decide, Master." She carefully threaded her answer respectfully. Though in any case, she would fully commit to the task offered.

@Tulos

 

[Sah'ra Ryun]

”Master,” Sah'ra mirrored, chuckling. Perhaps once she was something akin to a Master to the now denounced Pureblood but those days had long since past. While it was assuredly a courtesy of Sah'ra's own position, one that had been snatched away from Nevizkas, it still fuelled her own vanity. ”How I have missed that title,”

Her capability was indeed in question. Nevizkas was only the shattered remnant of the woman she had been. The powers she once had at her disposal had been wiped away. All of this, to say nothing of the creature growing in her womb. Sah'ra knew what she would ask would be a complicated endeavor for her, one perhaps she could not overcome, but all pawns needed to be played if one wished to win at dejarik and the Pureblood was only but one.

Nevizkas would then witness something people would consider abnormal, an impossibility in the narrow minds of many, but an only to real occurrence to a Sith. Sah'ra would begin to change before her. Her smooth porcelain skin, while already pale, would lighten even further as it grew rough and pocked. Deep, dark scars pitting the entirety of her body would apparate on what little skin remained visible from beneath her attire. Her eyes, once bright blue and menacing, had become dull, sunken and tired. While her hair remained in the same tight style she typically wore, it would fade from black to grey. In short, the Sith Master transitioned from who Nevizkas remembered to a scarred individual.

”Now you see the truth, my truth. My mind and strength remain but my body...” Sah'ra began, her voice cracking with agitation. Her vanity had always been a prominent aspect of who she was and it would be clear that her current state was a difficult weight to bear. ”Submerged in the frozen lakes of Arkania, I clung to life through the Force but it had come at a cost. One I am no longer willing to pay,”

Sah'ra then snapped to the book, flipping through its pages until she came to the excerpt she desired.

”I require sacrifices. The easiest of the two would be the child. One of a species that boasts a long lifespawn. Sephi, Arkanian. Something near human is critical. Sensitive to the Force, a must.” For the briefest moment, Sah'ra's eyes flicked to the growing life form in the disgraced woman's belly before returning to the pages. While the child was not favorable for her needs, it would be clear that failure in procurring one that was could be detrimental. ”The second is,” Pausing, Sah'ra retrieved a datapad containing information of her target from within her pocket and slid it across the table to Nevizkas. ”More troublesome,”

@Xorism​

 

[Nevizkas]

At last the real reason for the meeting had been revealed as the pureblood watched with morbid curiosity while Sah'ra changed. Her body was in ruin, masked by the force or so she assumed, having taken far more damage than she could have previously imagined.

As Sah'ra continued to speak, further clarity arrived as she spoke of sacrifice with what she assumed was a method to reverse or further conceal the weakness. The first seemed a simple enough challenge for Cyutadakyr, but for Nevizkas? That was entirely a different story.

Troublesome was an understatement for the second target, given the reputation she possessed. But with the right help or a proper plan, anything was possible. And if she failed, well, it wouldn't be her problem to deal with any more.

"I will find your sacrifices, Master." She accepted the task without hesitation, knowing that Sah'ra would afford her none. "Must they be...uninjured" Her question lingered in the air for a moment. It seemed obvious that they must be taken alive, but whether that included all their limbs and appendages remained to be seen.

@Tulos

 

[Sah'ra Ryun]

As Nevizkas agreed to Sah'ra's proposal, an inevitability as if she had attempted to deny her then the facade would have fallen completely, the Sith Master gently closed the book before allowing herself to once more be consumed by her masquerading appearance.

”I would prefer them whole, yes,” she replied simply, though her tone would imply that this was more than just retrieving a pair of doomed souls for her experiments. She could have just as easily elected to utilize her brother in place of the bounty hunter. He was, after all, more readily available and had been on the receiving end of her machinations.

Instead, the abomination was who she desired. It seemed that after all this time, it very well could finally live up to the reason her father had created the thing in the first place. Even without the Force, Nevizkas would see there was personal motive to the choice of sacrifice.

”Cause them as much pain as you desire. More, even. But I swear this to you, Nevizkas,” Sah'ra continued, standing from her place on the couch and looking down on the Pureblood with renewed vigor. As one illusion rose, another fell. Sah'ra had received her word she would perform this task. The Pureblood needed to then be reminded of whom she served in this endeavor. ”If you fail to bring me the damned, it will be you who suffers in their place,”

With a twitch of her hand, Sah'ra intruded the mind of Nevizkas and began to warp her thoughts. Darkness would seep in from the peripherals of her vision until she was surrounded in shadow. She would picture only the form of a shattered and twisted crimson infant cast at her feet, a dark figure looming beyond. While the thing that grew within gave her cause to preserve her life, it also would be her biggest liability and Sah'ra desired her to know this.

@Xorism​