Ask Dathomir Unfinished Business

[Darth Raze]

It took him a while to find his way here. He was familiar with the planet, and he had different business with Renfry. However, that wasn’t his goal today. He walked through forests and past the trees, having become quite adept at navigating the planet by now. The planet's energy welcomed him because of what he represented. He felt empowered here, perhaps more than Renfry would ever like.

The Sith walked towards his destination, the sounds of animals and birds hauntingly silent in his wake. The Force energy may have embraced him, but the local critters reeled from his presence. He was a terrible, oppressive presence - an unnatural thing. He carried the stench of death on him from his recent massacre of the Jedi temple on Ithor.

The Dark Prince came to a stop as he saw a simple, modest house before him. He could see movement through the windows. His presence was overbearing where it would be noticed soon enough. For now, he made no further moves, calmly taking in sight of his destination.

 

[Veles]

Dathomir, Autem residence
Circa 10 years after Pursuit for Redemption

A chilling breeze blew softly along the blackened grass, tussling the scarce blades. Dathomir was always dry and a bit cold, but there was an unmistakable aura of darkness in the air today--not an outright evil one, but merely one that was punctuated by grief. They had been all he had left in the Galaxy after his unacceptable mistakes caused his world to come crashing down on him, the only stability he had left and the only thing preventing him from complete solitude. Not that he had visited them since he had landed on Dathomir for the last time over 10 years ago. He would not have been able to bear looking either of them in the eye, so Veles had kept his distance at his hut far away but had always been content with feeling their life force so close to him, and his wielding of the dark side allowed him to keep tabs on them in other ways. It was that way that he had learned of his father's death, a couple of years ago, and it was the same way that he also discovered his mother's passing. This time, however, he had not been able to restrain himself.

Veles had been at the hut since dawn, and at the time of his arrival, his mother was still alive, but barely hanging on. He let himself into the hut because he knew of her comatose state, even though they had not seen each other in so long. They both looked so different now, and although he certainly appeared more deathly than before, she had surpassed him. His eyes had flickered to the bandage over her torso, he had analyzed the wound. The flesh was rotting and boiling, an infection from a venomous creature that prowled Dathomir. She was older now, not as spry. It broke his heart that he had allowed this to happen; he could have protected her, had he been there.

But he no longer cared about the what ifs. I do as the Shadow guides me. A hand snapped up and grabbed his forearm, causing his gaze to swiftly avert toward his mother's sickly form. Her eyes were open, only halfway, but there was much emotion within them. She did not have to say a word for him to understand, and yet still she forced some out.

"Accountability... does not mean abandonment." He sat there in stunned silence. "The tide... still turns." Her grip loosened, and her eyelids slowly began shifting. "We... will be connected... always."

---

Dusk had followed soon after, and he spent the time that it took for night to crawl in giving his mother a proper ritual, then cremating her and spreading most of the ashes on the rays of the wind. Wherever she was now, it was a far more pleasant fate than the one that awaited his tormented soul.

A pale, tattooed thumb rubbed over the surface of the dark gem of the ring on his index finger, set in a matte-black wood he had sheared off their ancestral tree. She will indeed be connected to him, always. Golden discs rested on the dark horizon, into the void, the sorcerer deep within his mind. There was not much to do in solitude, other than practice magick and think. That was fine by him. There was still much thinking to be done.

With a sinister subtlety like the creeping legs of an arachnid, the energy shifted. Slowly, ripples spread as though his web was tingling. The undisputed apex predator on this territory, Veles could sense things much lighter than the ominous presence that approached. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as the air grew static.

A jet black plank creaked as his boot shifted onto it, followed by another and another as he stepped further from the window and deeper into the house, toward the hallway. His black cloak pulled over his bare shoulders, green electricity crackled and danced among the tips of his blackened fingers, with a malicious joy of worthy competition. Perhaps too worthy.

The door of the hut opened by itself as though pushed by a draft, light fog creeping into the house and passing by his ankles. His pace as he exited was restrained, lacking the urgency of one who feared for their life. His heart was not pounding, his palms were not sleek with sweat. I succumb to the will of the Shadow.

He came to a stop at a fair distance from the evil figure. A presence that was only faintly familiar, like the smell of perfume on a piece of fabric. "Lord Raze."

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The fact that Veles recognized him at once was pleasing. Veles knew his frame and stature was different from over a decade ago. And yet the man knew unquestionably who stood before him. The Anzat stared in silence, his crimson gaze drilling into the face he hardly recognized. This was a man that showed promise that chose to squander it away.

“How far you have fallen,” The wraith stated as his gaze flicked past Veles and towards the hut, “When you could have spent all this time with Caelestis’ failed apprentice,” He looked at the sorcerer again, “Such tender little memories I witnessed as I feasted on her.”

The Sith knew Veles had talent - talent he chose to waste at every given opportunity. Raze had a need and he would take it one way or another, “You will submit to me or you will die,” He stated flatly. The fact that he even gave a ‘choice’ was a testament to a shred of respect to the man’s crafts. His skills in the arcane were unmatched and rivaled that of Raze or even Renfry.

@vamp

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze was displeased by the lack of an answer. The Sith gazed at the former Sith Lord, a man that showed so much promise, so much potential, and he squandered it. However, it all existed within his mind, locked away in a treasure chest. Raze wanted the contents of that chest, and the only thing in his way was a broken shell of a man.

Without warning, the Force abruptly thrust into Veles’ mind. The former Sith would be paralyzed where he stood, his face frozen in a look of terror. Raze violated his mind, tearing through any attempt at barriers. He barged in like a barreling speeder, crushing anything in his wake. He continued till he found that treasure chest he sought, violently opening it to extract the contents he desired. They were all the studies Veles had conducted on alchemy and all the knowledge he so jealously protected over the years. All the rituals, all the notes, where to find everything, where everything was hidden. It all flooded into Raze’s mind as he shredded through Veles’ psyche.

Veles couldn’t even scream, couldn’t react, couldn’t put up a fight. He had to simply stand there as Raze pulled whatever he wanted, fragmenting everything that made Veles into a person with a personality and feelings. His entire psychological makeup was torn to bits by the demon that was Raze. Tears would begin to flow down Veles’ face, the only display of pain he was allowed.

There was an end to the suffering. Raze took steps forth to close the distance, tentacles slipping out from slits lateral to his nose. They thrust into Veles’ eyes, nose and mouth. With one last tug, his very essence was pulled from him. His pain and agony would finally come to a close as Raze feasted upon him.

And so, Cinere Autem, once known as Darth Veles, hit the ground with a thud. He was a shriveled up corpse, only a shell of what he once was. But he fell near his home. Near the family he knew.

Darth Raze’s face returned to its humanoid form, porcelain skin and crimson gaze back to their flawless perfection. He wasted no time, turning on his heel and disappearing. He had places to visit and data to gather.

/End