The Faultering of the Sith

[Jin Phoenix]

Zhen smiled at his pupils behind his mask and then his attention turned to Steven. He spoke quickly but effectively.

 

"She is correct Steven. If you want to avenge someone find someone who is worthy of avenging. Bandon was not one is worthy of your compassion. He was nothing because he followed Malak who was also nothing. All Malak was was an empty shell filled with evil and lust. These alone cannot show you the way to leadership and therefore Bandon is not worthy because he followed a man who wasn't worthy of his post as Master of the Sith."

 

He then looked over at Nalean and nodded at her smile. Through her years at the academy Zhen had become quite fond of the girl and now he would bestow upon her her first bit of Sith power.

 

He turned to Steven and spoke softly.

"In the future I do suggest you watch your tounge around her. You Steven are a Dark Jedi not a Sith and soon she will have the power to decide wether you live or die... Now leave us.

 

After he had gone he leaned against the wall of the tomb and looked at Nalean studing her for a moment. He then spoke almost tenativly.

 

"Nalean, may I ask you something?"

[Blessèd Sith]

Nalaen kept her hands folded neatly in her lap, still kneeling, sitting on her calves, her feet crossed over the other. She sat as she had been taught to before the Elders and Priests and Masters . . . Well, everyone above her really. Even if it wasn't customary to these Sith, she would still bestow the same respect. When the Dark Lord had spoken, she watched him at first, somehow able to picture his features. Yes, she could only see the mask, but she assumed everyone who was accustomed to watching facial features could see the mask move with speech; though it was truly a trick of the eyes. Or perhaps it was her sensing something beyond the visible. No matter what it was, it was that, with his words about her that made her bow her head. First it was out of embarrassment at such acknowledgement and by The Dark Lord no less. His finishing words though made her eyes sparkle with pride and eagerness. She couldn't explain it, and didn't want Darth Zhen to think less of her if he could see it, so she kept her face down, waiting.

 

"Nalaen, may I ask you something?" His words floated about her head and slowly sank in. Breathing in slowly through her nose, she nodded and lifted her head slightly to look up at him, into that blank mask that somehow conveyed all the passion and power in the galaxy.

 

"Of course, my Lord," she breathed.

[steven]

"i know Bandon was weak. But he was the only real family i had" he walked deeper into hte tomb until he could not be seen by the others.

[Jin Phoenix]

He nodded to her and after a moment finally uttered this question.

 

"Nalean eairlier you told Steven that if you were weak you deserved to die, Do you truly believe life, your life is that worthless that it should be thrown away because you are defeated?"

 

He looked away for a moment and watched as his breath slipped from his mouth in the cool tomb.

 

"Everytime I kill, I fight I know that both of our lives are precious. My opponent only wants me dead, he never thinks of my family, my friends and all the people that may miss me. I however do. Ever kill saddens me slightly for I know those people will never see their husband or son or wife or daughter again. Life is precious Nalean and I suppose that is why we must take it for the greatest is taking precious things."

 

At this moment the Dark Lord had shown himself to her. He did not know why but his inner soul had come out and he found she could be trusted.

[steven]

Steven walked deeper into the tomb. "Ok. now i think i'm lost. i seem to be going in circles. This tomb goes on for as far as the human eye can see. thats if the human eye could see in here"

[Blessèd Sith]

Nalaen stared up at her Dark Lord with wide, almost frightened eyes. Her nose started wrinkling in child-like disgust as words attempted to form into sentances in her mind.

 

"Um, my Lord, er . . ." She coughed as her brain scrambled still to get something of context. Finally something clicked as her voice came out dry and blassé. "I'm a Sith and a warrior, my Lord. The hunt and the kill are what drive me. I love watching my victim die, his life flowing slowly out of him; or quickly at my hand. To allow your enemy to live out of pity is an insult to both your and thier honour." Life started to creep into her tone. "My Lord, I surely hope this is a jest, or at least some sort of test. No life is worth more than the life of a Sith. To even consider life and empathy for your enemy is to give them an opening to kill you. They do not have the same consideration for you: if they could kill you they would the very second it presented itself. You can either be ruthless and respected, or get slain. That's the facts of life, my Lord, and I do hope you realise I see them." She continued to gaze up at him, this impenetrable pillar of cruelty -- or so she had thought. She had always thought she could depend on him, that he was glory upon glory: but now . . . now, if he was being all sappy, well . . .

 

"Plus, I take sadistic pride in knowing I've ruined his family. As should anyone."

 

To put it lightly, she felt like her world was about to crumble.

[steven]

"i'm starting to think Master Zhen is in love with Nalaen. He seems to say she's the bes.. ahh!" steven seemed to trip other somthing "what the ****" He ignited his saber and used it's light to see what it was. " a box?" he opened it and found a small sith artifact inside. He put the artifact into his pocket and headed to where he came from.

[Jin Phoenix]

Zhen studied her for a long moment then nodded.

 

"Well Nalean to be honest it was no jest. However empathy and pity are not emotion I convey. I pity no one in war for they truly are expendable from the moment they join either side. Still though cruelty alone will not take any farther than our predesecors. Why I will succeed where they failed was all their lives they had been in it and truly only had hatred left. I however have watched from afar and I had enough clarity to see all and I know what they were missing. Full emotion. It is like a color spectrum. Without one another doesn't make sense. It never transicions. I however know all feelings. Cruelty Malice compasion anger hate love happiness fear all these and more are mine and that I suceed because I have all that is needed."

 

He smiled at her.

 

"I hear the disgust in your wors and in your thoughts. How can dark lord know all these and still be who he is. It is because of who I am that I can know these for without them I would not be where I am today. And without ever action in your life you would not be here now. Do you understand what I am saying?"

[steven]

Steven seemed to be more lost when he headed back "How nalaen gets though this tomb i shall never know" he heard a few noises behind him "nor care"

[Blessèd Sith]

The switch wasn't even noticeable, but the results were. One minute she was bordering on absolute disgust; the next, her face was beaming.

 

"Exactly my Lord. The Code says Passion. Not passionate hatred nor passionate cruelty. But PASSION. It runs a full gambit. And there is no way to truly understand one emotion without having experienced its converse." She hung her head then in shame. "I am sorry for doubting you my Lord, I should be most severely punished." Her voice was a choked whisper. "But I had to make sure that you were . . . still you." Here she flushed slightly around the tribal markings. "I thought . . . that you were thinking like a Jedi. Mercy where mercy is most certainly not due. Those sorts of idiot thoughts. Forgive me, I beg you." Prostrating herself before her Dark Lord, her nose to the stone ground, she could smell the mildew and rot and dirt of ages past. It wasn't pleasant, but to those like her obsessed with history, it wasn't unpleasant either. No matter how she felt about this uncomfortable position that easily cramped muscles, the cold and the smell, she would stay there until given permission to rise. Though she didn't even want someone to consider that she thought she could put words in the Dark Lord's mouth, or guess what he was going to say or do, she got the vague feeling that he wasn't going to kill her. Perhaps not even harm her. However, now that she was assuming as such, he probably would just to prove her wrong. And she knew she would deserve it.

 

She waited.

[steven]

Steve had finally found his way to the others "hey hoy"

[Writer]

Just as Kira got to the entrance of the tomb she had been in, she heard some movement in another that was nearby. She turned and walked over, hoping there was some way to vent her rage inside. A large spiderlike creature scuttled away from the entrance, making a loud screech. Kira grinned, knowing a battle was on.

 

In a flash, she was holding both lightsabers. Mere seconds later, she was flipping and twisting, staying well out of the way of the giant spiders, but managing to kill them as well. She vaguely realized she was heading deeper into the tomb, but she didn't care.

[Jin Phoenix]

Zhen smiled at her softly behind the mask his features hidden from her.

 

"Arise my child. You have done nothing wrong for in possision I would questioned myself aswell for not understanding what I had meant. I shall not harm you Nalean now go I must stay here for a few moments to collect then I may perhaps have a mission for you."

 

Zhen smiled and nodded at her

[steven]

"master, what happened to that merc that u sent to kill that mandolian with the droid?"

[steven]

The four heard some sort of chanting from deeper inside the tomb

 

"whats that?"asked steven as he reached for his light saber

[Writer]

Kira slipped further into the tomb, growing tired of the constant fight with the spiders. She opened a nearby door and slipped through, closing it again before the spiders could come through. She continued moving deeper into the tomb until she found Zhen, Nalaen, and Steven.

 

Her greeting to Nalaen was civil, if only that. She nodded her respect to Zhen, but merely stared at Steven. Then he asked a question about the chanting that had just begun.

 

"I don't know, but neither do I care," she answered. "This is the tomb of a Sith Lord. What goes on in here is not always explainable. Understand that and stop trying to explain everything."

[Blessèd Sith]

(((Sorry for not being around in such a long time!!!. . .)))

 

She glanced sidelong at Kira and smirked. Listening to the chanting, she tried to prevent it from affecting her. From her spine straightening and her shoulders setting with strength and pride. Hopefully they would all become too uneasy with it and not search the tomb. For some reason she didn't want anyone to stumble upon her private place.

 

Looking to the Dark Lord, she nodded and swept out of the tomb, doing what she had been told. It was up to him to tell the others to leave as well.

[Writer]

Kira caught Nalaen's smirk, but did not react. She turned to Zhen and bowed. Then, she turned to leave as well. She could see Nalaen's back, but made no attempt to catch up with her. They didn't need another confrontation.

[steven]

"This is boring"he turned to the exit of the tomb "acuallty i'm going to see where the chanting is coming from. any1 coming with me?"

[Writer]

Kira paused when Steven spoke and she sighed.

 

"You are too curious for your own good," she said. "Learn to calm your curiosity."

 

With this, she continued walking. Nalaen had disappeared from her view by this time. So much the better, she thought. What better way to avoid confrontation than to stay well away? There was no better way in her mind, so she walked slowly in order to remain behind Nalaen.

[steven]

"I take that as i no then" he took out his lightsaber and walked deeper into the tomb

[Blessèd Sith]

(((C'mon guys! Let's resume these old goodies n_n Don't make me go all DS on your arses )))

[steven]

As steven walked deeper into the tomb. It seemed different to him and the chanhing grew louder. He knew he was most probally walking into a trap set by the force but the only way he felt alive was facing death stright in the face. "hmm, i wonder how the others are" he said quitely. He'd left them behind a few hours ago

[Blessèd Sith]

Her room was cool, as every room in the academy was. It was almost like the tombs, though not as saturated with knowledge and power. Nalaen had returned to her room to meditate, as her time in her private place had been interrupted. That was no big deal though; she could return at any time. She did hope that Steven, foolhardy though he was, wouldn't get into anything over his head. The stupid deserved what came to them, true, however he was a fellow student and no matter how she felt, he was her peer and didn't deserve the death waiting the ignorant tenatious ones. Very few could get past the traps and the dark energies and the "games" the spirit of the Dark Lord enjoyed playing. She suspected the only reason why she lived was because she, in her youth, never considered that she could truly be killed. Confidence attracted Masters, not rebuked them. But the largest part of the equation she thought, was her obsession with history and the fact that she just wanted to learn. What dead Sith Lord wouldn't want to pass on his knowledge to ready ears and an eager mind?

 

Perhaps Steven was ready and the Dark Lord wouldn't kill him. But there were protections to her private place, her temple, the ancient Dark Lord's tomb. He had had them built, and she had added to them. Unless he were allowed in there (if he even found the door, which was unlikely, though he may find where the door is generally located) he probably wouldn't have too easy a time actually passing the threshold.

 

She sure hoped not. It was her place, it was the Dark Lord's tomb, his final resting place, and someone without respect and reverence for their ancestors and the ancients shouldn't desecrate it with their unknowing minds, their clumsy steps. What if he did find it, find her temple? Would he attempt to open the sarcophagus? Or muss around with her altars? The decorations and things she had put up -- with permission of course -- would he do something to them?

 

Her paranoia was starting to get to her. Without knowing it, she had been worrying her lower lip and was near drawing blood. Quitting the nervous habit, she took a deep cleansing breath. The Force flowed in and out of her. She tried to centre herself. Whatever happened would happen, and save going back to the tomb and stopping Steven -- thereby admitting to something of great interest in the temple and her own interest in it -- there was nothing she could do.

 

Closing her eyes, she tried to drive her thoughts out of her mind and focus on the Force. She also wondered if there would be a new job for her to partake in soon. Or if there were any new lessons to learn: she was sick of practising that which she already knew. Half meditating, she waited.

[steven]

Steven took the artifact ,he'd found earlier, out of his pocket and looked at it "hmm, what happened to the chanting? i can't hear it anymore. WOAH!" steven stepped foward only to find there was a huge floor. Steven quickly jumped back before he fell in "great. now what?"

 

He saw a switch with a hole in it. the hole was the same shape as the artifact he'd found early. So he gave it a try and placed the artifact into the switch. Sudnelly, he found himself in a huge room, lighted up my torches.

 

"where am i?" he asked himself