A New Age

[☢Axl☢]

The mans answers always seemed...poetic, And if you were a true Sith, the Masked fellow and the one before him would've have died before your blade! He thought as the anger sparked inside him, he had to hold back the primeval nature he had grown accustomed to to prevent himself from beheading Inquisitous right there.

Up until then Jakob seemed to have some matter of respect for him, but now, not even an ounce remained. One day, he WOULD die at the hands of JAkob, but not today. Though the man seemed to have great skills as a writer or a poet, maybe even a musician. But a Sith Lord?

His right arm twitched with excitement as he tried to reach for the hilt of his saber as "Inquisitous" finished his statement. That was yet another thing that seemed to trouble and confuse Rylayus: Inquisitous? Am I really following a Self Proclaimed Sith lord who calls himself Inquisitous? he wondered. He managed to stop himself from even touching the hilt of his saber as he brought his arms up in a croseed manner at his chest.

Yes Lord Inquisitous, I see where I am wrong. Jakob said in a falsely submissive manner as Inquisitous finished his rant. As Jakob continued to search for flaws, he found yet another: The lack of The Rule of two.

300 years earlier Revan sought to institute such a rule: One to Embody the power; One two crave it. Why then did the "Sith" take on such a large ammount of Apprentices, Six of them I believe? Eventually the other dark lords will unite to overthrow his power and they WILL win. Then as others rise in the ranks of the Sith, they will too. And it is this that will casue to the downfall of our people! It will not work! The anger now had gone from a spark to the inextinguishable flames of hell. However Jakob had a great way of masking such anger both physically and spiritually.

It will be his downfall though, not mine. He assured himself. If he chooses to conduct himself in such a manner, so be it.
The bottom line however was that, right now, he could bring the Sith together and when such a thing happened on a larger scale, then things would fall into place, but for the moment, JAkob could simply wait.

If our new followers here happen to have anymore questions, than so be it but I do feel the urge to do something, milord. Perhaps if they are finished you could assign us with a task whether it be here or elsewhere? He asked motiopning towads the others.

[Apillis]

Acalya let out a heavy sigh, one of disappointment for it appeared they did not understand, but the sigh was also one of someone realizing inevitability. She ignored this - Jakob - she did not even bother to look at him or acknowledge him. What he spewed to her lacked any sort of teachings, and what he addressed to her had nothing to do with what she was inquiring to the Sith Lord before her. He said she was wrong - but her inquiries were not statements, they were questions for seeking to understand. What was there to be wrong about? There was nothing to be wrong about, but now - it was time for her to somewhat challenge the Sith's belief structure, for he only scratched the surface of what she was hoping to understand and learn form him.

Her blood red eyes staring straight into the Sith Lord's eyes, she did not blink even once - even when the scorching hot breeze blew through as she spoke, "You misunderstand me, Sith. I do not care about the Jedi, I do not care about the Republic. I do not care about any government. They are nothing. They hold no significance to my existence. But one thing does. The Force. The Sith and Dark Jedi eras failed partly in due to what you claim. But the roots run much deeper than that to the branching tree of their failure through the countless eras. They missed the key ingredient. The Jedi are a part of us. As this gathering demonstrates, we can always spawn more from Jedi. The Jedi exist so we persist. We exist so the Jedi persist. Every time the light has sought to extinguish the dark completely, the light has nearly been completely destroyed in return for an era of darkness. But any time when we do not have the light exposed to us, what do we do? Our way is to test ourselves and our power - it is what makes us stronger, because we do not stagnate - the strongest always rules. Without those who serve the light, who do we have left to test ourselves upon? Each other. And that is when we begin to slaughter one another, and create our own downfall.

"We have failed in eras past for the same reasons why the Jedi nearly destroy themselves when they try to illuminate the dark with their light to obliterate it. We always try to completely eclipse the light, and that is when the darkness begins to turn on itself once again - to test its strength because the light is too weak for the darkness to test itself upon. The darkness then erodes from destroying itself and the light shines bright once again to nearly wipe out the darkness, and then only we shadows of the greater darkness remain. But, only for the process to be repeated again. It is not factions, Sith. It is the Force, we are embodiments of the Force so heavily connected to it - we are in a constant struggle of balance. Sometimes the balance is more to the darkness, and sometimes the balance is more to the light. Right now, the light shines bright. It shines brighter than it has for a long, long time. But, the brighter the light - the darker the shadows that it casts, and so you appear - and here we stand - growing darker, growing stronger - to eclipse the light once more.

"The mantle of Sith Lord is something that has been absent from the galaxy for so long. To the point the label of Sith became so terribly perverted a bunch of idiotic monarchs took up the name for their little insurrection against the Republic. That is why it is a withered mantle of power - it had degenerated to such a point, those who know nothing of the dark ways could claim to be Sith unopposed, at least, for a time. But, I see now, from your words... I think... perhaps you are here to correct these misconceptions, or you are here to set right what the Sith truly are - and what they are meant to be.

"I have walked the surface of Korriban for decades, since I was no older than many of the young Acolytes you have gathered here. I would meditate for days, weeks, trying to understand the key to power of the old Sith Lords. And for decades all that the lesson of Korriban gave me was the dark side is a path of death. However, right now, the path of life - the light - there is too much of it - there is too much life... It is beginning to stagnate the galaxy, I believe... There needs to be more death."

Tilting her head ever so slightly, but her eyes never turned away from Iniquitous' own eyes, it was clear at this point it was not an attempt of intimidation, but more like how one looks another straight in the eye to show respect when speaking to them. Crossing her arms under her chest, she shifted in her stance a little shifting her weight from one leg to the other, "I will speak plainly, Sith. I will join the Sith, I will serve you, I will kill for you, and I will aid in making the Sith stronger in more ways than one. I will kill Jedi as I have in the past. Whether the Republic crumbles or not, I do not care. But, what I will not do is obliterate myself. I will not walk a path where shadow will be dispersed.", her eyes side glanced to Julius then, for the first time taking her eyes away from Iniquitous but only for a moment before turning them back to Iniquitous own eyes, "You told him you would teach him trust. If you are or were willing, what could you teach me?", she then smirked a little - an oddly lighthearted expression, "Or, would you teach me what my former master used to tell me: to learn how to cease my constant babbling and lectures?"

((edit: Corrected annoying typos))

[Cavalry King]

Julius rose from his kneeling position and glanced at the two that had approached them. While he did not particularly enjoy being "cut in on", by these two newcomers while he was conversing with the Sith lord, he kept quiet and gathered himself. Julius had not been given much of an opportunity to respond, with the Sith begining to converse with the two that had approached. It appeared that they were concerned only with talk. Julius had enough talk while he was maneuvering in politics. The dark side was not very political and so he refrained from joining in the conversation.

He responded to the Sith's questions however, trying to be as vague as possible yet hinting as to why he maintained his secrecy. "Let us say that I am in somewhat of a powerful position and that it would be better for all if I was to remain anonymous. I can operate from the inside, so to speak. We may talk more on the matter later, it seems you have other matters to attend to."

With that he stepped back and began to watch the discussion. He glanced back at the students to see what they might be doing. Soon they would be learning the powers of the Dark Side, he just feared what might happen if the Jedi tried to get to them.

[Karl the Unfettered]

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A few weeks ago...
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In orbit around some moon or other, a black ship drifted. It had red bits on it, and a dark sun above a yellow standard beneath the bridge. It had people on it, of course, mostly hard and merciless people who would sooner cave in your skull as give you the time of day; they were pirates, of course. Their ship was The Midnight Sun and while it may not have been the best ship it certainly did its job, and it looked sorta scary to boot.

And the hardest, most merciless of the whole lot was naturally the captain, a Miraluka Dark Jedi Master by the name of Charlill Sylvorr. But he had everyone call him Shard, since it was easy to remember. He was currently meditating, and experiencing a vision...

An ancient planet of weathered rock, a long valley full of crumbled statues and old temples...

A man, swathed in black, standing before a particularly old structure, with students and children gathered about...

The man raises his hand... the planet trembles... and...

And the vision ended. "Hrrk," he scoffed under his breath, opening his awareness again. He reached out beside him, took a pair of expensive sunglasses with extremely dark lenses, and slipped them on, covering the open holes that were his eye sockets. "What is that place," he went on, not moving from his seated position. It was the third time in as many days he had had this vision; he could not say if it was past, present or future, but what was clear was that he was being called.

The Miraluka stood, and shook himself out. "Valda!" he called, striding for the door, his armorweave cloak billowing out behind him. A wave of his hand brought the pneumatic portal open, and he caught sight of one of his men walking down the hall. "You, Markov! Get the Empire on the comm, I need to speak with them!" he commanded, going for the bridge. "VALDA!"

Then she was there, his Zabrak apprentice. "Master?" she asked in a submissive manner, keeping pace with him as he hurtled down the passage.

"We have an expedition, my student," he told her without stopping. "I don't know where, or when, except that we are likely headed for Sith space and we head out quite soon. Get one of the fighters ready for Kurtz and I."

"Yes, master," Valda replied, turning to head for the hangar.

At the bridge, Shard had to wait for the signal to reach Muunilinst, then for someone to decide to answer; twenty minutes passed in this manner, until a low-level flunkie finally came on. "What is it, Sylvorr? Make it quick!" the Twi'lek snapped.

"I'm looking for a planet," the Miraluka replied, unperturbed by the less-than-warm reception. "Dry, red, full of ruins... might be some Jedi around..."

"That's most likely Korriban, and you won't find any Jedi there," came the response. "Surprised a fellow like you hasn't asked about it yet... hang on, we'll send the coordinates." The transmission cut out; minutes later a set of hyperspace routes and sector coordinates appeared in the navicomputer.

"What are we wating for, cullies?" he inquired of the bridge crew. "Up and at 'em! Get us there post-haste!" The men jumped to action, and soon the lines of hyperspace filled the windows. Satisfied, Shard returned to his quarters to practice with his lightsabers; it would be a long-ish trip...

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The present...
-----------------
"Cap'n, we're here," one of the men said dutifully, standing just outside the door.

"Good, good," Shard replied, even though it was unnecessary; he had sensed the ship slipping out of hyperspace. "Make sure the fighter is ready, and bring the Colonel to me on your way." The Colonel was Colonel Kurtz, a retired military man of some special forces branch or other; he was quite skilled, and quite insane, and he and the Miraluka got along famously.

He made his way to the aft hangar, where the two-man strike fighter was ready for launch. "Reportin' in, Cap'n," came a rough voice from behind; it belonged to Kurtz, who was fully decked out. "Korriban, eh? Heard ya had a vision or summat."

"Indeed I did, Kurtz," Shard replied absently. "There is little I do not see, as you know." The planet below absorbed his attention; it was rich with the Dark Side, though old and weathered. Much would be decided down there, he knew this well. "Come along then, being late is no good at all." He clambered up into the rear seat, and Kurtz took the pilot's chair; a brief check-off and the ignition sequence, and they were away.

The flight to the surface would have been tedious, except that Shard found himself fascinated by the ancient Sith stronghold. To his vision, it sluggishly seethed and roiled with the Dark Side, slow with age yet stil immensely powerful. "Beautiful," he murmured, lost in the sight. The grandeur of the vista was slowly lost as they came closer in, and Shard directed the Colonel to a series of strong auras gathered at the head of a valley. "There may not be space to park properly," he said, "so allow me to disembark, then return to orbit; I'll call you when I'm ready to go." Kurtz grunted in reply and focused on reaching the valley.

Those down below would hear the ship's approach long before it came into view; then they would see a simple starfighter, somewhat generic in appearance, flying slowly back and forth in search of a landing spot. Fortunately there was one, a flat area not far from the rest of them, and it was here that she touched down, walled off by a small, sharp rise from the view of the others already gathered there.

For a moment, nothing happened; then, faintly, the hiss of a hatch opening could be heard, followed by a sudden form springing high into view from behind the rise, resolving itself into a tall-ish male figure as it came down. A furious wave of Force power slowed his descent, and he landed gracefully in a crouch, from which he stood up. As he walked over to the rest of them, they might have felt his gaze flickering over each one; the students he dismissed out of hand, Jakob and Acayla he lingered on briefly. On Julius, however, his gaze held for a moment, and his eyebrow quirked very slightly; this motion wasn't visible beneath the expensive glasses, however.

"Afternoon, cullies," he intoned, putting one foot back and bowing at all of them. Everything about him spoke of power, from the expensively tailored clothing and armor he wore to the Echani dueling foil and high-end Czerka slugthrower sidearm at his hip; his lightsabers could be seen too, their bright golden fixtures glinting brightly against the blackened metal of the hilts. Even his body language, demeanor, the wave and cut of his blond hair and the way his voice carried easily to all present, indicated a man well-used to commanding and being swiftly obeyed.

On Iniquitous, his attention lingered longest; he said nothing for a prolonged moment, simply staring at the Dark Lord with an attentive, slightly curious expression beneath his glasses and his neatly trimmed goatee. "I have seen you, Dark One," he went on, in a quieter and more somber tone. "Though... you are younger than I expected." His tone carried no hint of derision whatsoever; he was merely stating a fact, as one would say they hadn't expected the rain to be so heavy. "No matter," he added with the hint of a chuckle in his voice, as he turned to regard the crumbled temple. "Ahh... this was your doing, Dark One, was it not?" the Miraluka asked, a slight trace of admiration now gracing his tone. "Interesting, interesting..."

[Foxfire]

(OOC: From True believer)


As Cho got closer to the canyon edge a ship swooped down before him and landed in the canyon. Cho at once felt a great number of dark powered ones in the canyon shutting himself down in the force he silently stalked to the edge to see what was happing. To Cho amazement a good number of aliens of various sex and race were congregated down there.

A prison no more, and maybe there might be one down there that is worthy to follow.

Standing Cho raised his head and released the loudest roar he could manage so that his voice would echo for all to hear. Once the echo died down he slowly came down the cliff with the greatest of ease. Upon entering the crowd Cho slowly released his force camouflage until he was within ten feet of the one who's power enveloped the planet. Cho show no interest to any for he could sense many were weak in the force and none with the coloring of his power.

As cho stood there he look over this young one of power, great was his potential and cho could sense great was his future.

For many years, I Cho Wroth have watched and waited for relief from here. Waiting for some one to come. I did not know that the Dark Will of the Force was having me wait for you to come. If you are here to destroy what the first built then I shall destroy you. But if you are here rebuild the Once Great Sith World then my blade is at your command.

Cho raised his double blade lightsaber and ignited both blades. Cho had wondered if this was the Dark Will or another test so Cho waited for the young one to answer.

[Apillis]

Acalya let out a heavy sigh of irritation, her patience was clearly running thin as she crossed one arm under her chest with its hand resting on her side, while she pinched the bridge of her nose with the other and gently closed her blood red eyes. First one had to fight the Sith Lord, then when she tried conversing with the Sith Lord to get deeper into the heart of where this Sith Lord is coming from a fool stepped into the conversation and now another interloper steps into the affair disrupting and preventing from getting to the core of things while attempted to converse with the Sith. This is was becoming trite for her tastes.

Clearly everyone wanted their moment for show with the Sith Lord to curry favor, but only one was looking to get to the beating heart of things. As she stood there with her left arm crossed under her chest, and her right hand pinching the bridge of her nose - the dark murderous intent begun to well-up unconsciously within her. Her presence begun to feel colder and more dense - thick, a spider crack on the ground under her right foot begun to slowly split open.

She waited for the first to conclude his discrepancies with the Sith Lord's power, and now she confronts the Sith Lord's philosophy, beliefs, perhaps even his teachings to get a handle on them. The other two can wait as she did... or they will be made to. It was becoming painfully clear to her that Dark Jedi of this era do not care about understanding as she does, merely show-boating and disruption. The reward for her patience in watching the Sith Lord and the other Dark Jedi Master dispute each others power was she now had an understanding for their strengths and even weaknesses, while they do not know hers. A smart Dark Jedi would take advantage of such a thing, right now as she spoke with the Sith Lord she was slowly beginning to her unveil some of her knowledge within her conversation, and perhaps even get the Sith Lord to do the same. This is an advantage those who bother to observe like the Dark Jedi Master, Julius, has chosen to do at the present.

It is otherwise like the Jedi lightsaber duelist versus the Sith swordsman, facing a lightsaber is more predictable to the Sith, than it is for the Jedi to face a sword. The forms are known, but sword is not bound by the seven forms as a lightsaber is. Therefore the Jedi is left with a vague comprehension of what to expect from the Sith's skill with a sword, while the Sith possesses a clearer understanding of what to expect from the Jedi. But, the Sith apprentice observing the duel from the outside, watching his master's technique, studying it for his future betrayal will now know what to expect when he faces his master. Observation is a powerful skill that is not enough utilize these days, too many merely want to make themselves known and obvious to the observers.

Her blood red eyes eventually opened, though her posture unchanged, her eyes simply glared at the new arrival for a long moment before turning her eyes back to Iniquitous. Or perhaps, this could be to her advantage - if none wish to observe, than she will continue to do so and reap the benefits of it from the interlopers making themselves plain. Especially when they act so dismissively toward her as this one did, there are no Dark Jedi anymore who bother to truly analyze who is before them - another advantage she could later use. It was becoming more painfully clear to her why she isolated herself from other Dark Jedi after she killed her master, dealing with them is filled with tedium and annoyances. A clash of personalities she has little patience in dealing with anymore - each seeing themselves as so epic and grandiose it becomes insufferable.

Upon hearing the loud, blustering roar of a Noghri appearing as yet another Dark Jedi entering what was transpiring as he loudly announced himself. When he came charging down the cliff to the gathering crashing onto the scene with all the subtlety of a Bantha, she rolled her eyes with a quiet groan of vexation and annoyance. Pinching the bridge of her nose and her free arm crossed under her chest with a posture that made her look visibly irritated by all this as she has begun to view it as something of a farce with the last three arrivals stepping into all that was going on so abruptly and without any sense of tact. Her gaze turned back to Iniquitous awaiting his reply to her words, should he give any.

((Edited annoying typos))

[Foxfire]

As Cho awaited for the young one's answer he felt seething darkness with coloring of True Darkness like his own turning Cho searched out the one his eyes coming to rest on a human-like female. He dropped his arm and powered down his saber. Going over to the female Cho had sensed an aggravation with in this one. Stopping Cho looked at her and asked her a question.

Is your will with the Dark Will or are you just seeking power without knowledge? If you are here to destroy what the first built then I shall destroy you. But if you are here rebuild or help improve the Once Great Sith World then my blade is with yours. I do not come to boast. I come to do the Dark Will of the Force and none, Be he overlord or young-ling, is going to hinder the Will or........

Cho looked around to see if all were looking. Returning his gaze to the female he continued.

....Me. If you are for the Dark Will, then the Will will guild you. If you are not It will destroy you without mercy.




Cho looked around seeing if anyone was looking at him as if he was mad. Turning Cho headed up the steps to the ruined temple. Half way Cho turned and sat. He took a meditative posture. Talking and meditating on the energies around them he continued.

Five long years this world has become my home, my prison. Living and surviving without a living soul, one of like kind to be around. This time would make one mad, but as for me my companion was the force. Guiding me, protecting me. It told me of my purpose to protect and defend against all that would bring harm to it's memory.

Falling deeper into the force and into his meditation Cho began to remove the debre that was the former temple. To move it clear of the area so as to leave a way for rebuilding some thing else in it's place.

[Foxfire]

Moving the rubble was made difficult by the numerous Dark force power swirling eddies of emotion. Uncontrolled, unfocused, their power was not the smooth flowing Dark side of the Rakata. Saying to him self,

No wonder the Sith destroyed them selves. The shear raw force storm of their power was their undoing. Tearing them selves apart in the force. A great leader is what may unite this storm so that these will have a direction for their force to follow.

Flowing with the force was what Cho had done for the past five years. Listening and waiting as some one watching a holo-vid. The flow of the Dark Will of force said to him to tread easily and not to be destroyed by the storms that were around him now. He had power but not in the way these needed. Power and knowledge was what was necessary for the calming forward movement the Dark Jedi needed to be the new foundation of the Sith.

[Mara]

((Yay, I am finally posting... Hopefully it won't be as long as my first one.
Again, Vreem, I'll keep Cal near Looma, but she might be going off on her own later, dunno. Just so you know. ))



As the yellow Twi'lek sat with the human Caleb in the back of the group of new recruits, her eyes were wide-open in almost childlike rapture. This lightsaber battle between two obvious masters of the dark side would be emblazoned in her memory forever, Looma was sure of it. She leaned forward, still holding onto Cal's hand, anticipating the first blows of the fight.

She felt almost an wash of ecstasy, feeling an outpouring of the dark side energy. When she drew on this energy, she didn't need to concentrate very hard to know that it was coming from this self-proclaimed Sith, this Darth Iniquitous. He was preparing for the fight against this newcomer, no doubt. Looma had never felt an energy like this before, never during her training in the Force at the Temple on Coruscant. Yes, she had felt in awe of its power sometimes, especially when she was immersed in using it, but it had never felt like this. This was almost... sensual.

Looma held back a gasp as the Lord's opponent unleashed some Force lighting. And the mysterious leader of the Brotherhood fought it back as easily as some kind of small insect. The area around the ruins was humming with dark side energy. Her heart pounded faster, watching this fight continue. What would this dark Jedi do next against Iniquitous?

The blue light from the training saber emitted a soft glow around the dark features of the man's face, but still Looma could not get a good glimpse of it. Perhaps he was even using the Force to shield his guise from the rest of them instead of merely covering himself with a dark hood. She watched the man's arrogance as he strolled forward, waiting to engage the other Force-wielder in their duel. The two men had her complete attention; she didn't realize that she had let go of Caleb's hand in her excitement. Looma sat forward in eagerness, her hands resting on her knees of her crossed legs.

The yellow Twi'lek's eyes widened as the other man stepped into the duel and began to furiously fight with his lightsaber against Iniquitous. In the flurry, she barely saw how the Sith Lord battered back the blows. This man was moving so fast that--wait, there was a third man there! He looked exactly like the intruder. Could it be a dark side trick? Looma wasn't sure; it didn't look like an illusion. It looked like this dark Jedi had suddenly sprouted a twin to fight the leader of the Brotherhood here among the ruins.

Whether or not he was actually fighting two people or one, Looma wasn't sure how long Iniquitous would be able to defend, even someone as power as he, against these rapid-fire attacks. He was holding his own for now, though. Perhaps just biding his time until the challenger finally weakened, tired from all the strikes.

So engrossed in the duel and what was to come, Looma didn't hear the female visitor speak. She was sitting in the back of the group of recruits and couldn't really see the woman sitting in the shadows near the crux of the ongoing lightsaber battle. Until now, the Dark Lord had been merely keeping his ground, she had noticed. But now he had dropped his defense and had gone on the offensive. Looma smiled; she had been waiting for a true demonstration of this man's skill with a lightsaber. She was surprised at how well the training saber was holding up against the red blade of his opponent.

The duel stopped briefly, and Looma saw the newcomer regroup for a moment before delving back into the fight. She had been waiting for another flurry of lightsaber parries and attacks from the dark Jedi but was surprised when instead the man just threw his lightsaber at Iniquitous, showing his strength within the Force by the nimbleness of his flip. Though the Leader of the Brotherhood evaded the move easily and her whole being was rooting for the Dark Lord to win this fight, she couldn't but feel a little in awe of his opponent's skill. This was truly a battle that was more well-matched than it had originally appeared when the Twi'lek first spotted this intruder.

Though the Dark Lord's attacker became more furious with his lightsaber strokes, further engaging the focus of all the Bakura recruits, Looma noticed something odd at the back of her mind. Another prescence, one that was not one of the agriworkers. She moved some of her Force awareness from Iniquitous--she had been keeping track of his power, regaling in its warm bath--and struck out around her in every increasing circles. She found it; a man was out there behind the group, but she couldn't get a good grasp on his intentions.

With her attention now divided, she watched the fight with only part of her mind focused on it. She saw the lightsabers, one red, one blue, one real, one a mere imitation, as they slashed against each other, their owners wielding them with ease and skill. Looma couldn't tell if they were using any specific form. She herself was only barely proficient in Shii-Cho and never had the time to learn anything else before being sent away to Bakura. So for the yellow Twi'lek this duel was just a duel to her; besides how beautiful it looked to her and some of the flashy moves, she couldn't really truly appreciate the skill the duelers had in using Makashi.

She was stunned when, after coming to an impasse as they both used Force lighting, Darth Iniquitous got rid of his lightsaber. Surely, the other dark Jedi would strike him down now? Or was he really that powerful with the dark side? Could he still win this fight? Looma and the others watched in rapt attention, waiting for what was next.

Ah! He must have had a plan, she thought, as he plucked another lightsaber from the audience of the recruits, sending still more at the dark Jedi intruder. Looma had to smile. This truly was a man she would put her full patronage under. There was no one else in the galaxy she would rather pledge her allegiance to. This was a man of power. A power she could never learn from the Jedi in the Temple. She glanced over at Cal and grinned at him before turning back to the fight, no longer paying attention to the stranger standing behind them.

There was a flurry of moves, so fast she could follow them. And then, it was over. Confusion ran across her face, her lekku twitching slightly. She was happy Iniquitous had one, yes, but, how? It had happened so quickly she wasn't sure how he had pulled it off. Once again, she was awestruck of his power. Despite the enjoyment she had of the battle, Looma hoped the other man would concede to the Dark Lord. Despite his loss in the duel, she was sure he would be a great asset to the cause.

As the man answered the Dark Lord's question, she glanced over at Cal. She understood the need for secrecy in these times, but why keep his face hidden? There must be more to this man's story, she was sure. For now, though, she waited for what was next, for what this man had in store for them. About what else he had to tell them before interrupted by the duel.

Her thoughts were broken as she watched another figure suddenly appear in her vision, walking through the front of the seated recruits. Looma had no idea where the woman had come from, nor why she hadn't felt her obvious power. Not as strong as the two men standing up front but definitely more than she herself had or any of the other new students. She walked right up to the pair and began berating them, not understanding what she was talking about. But the Twi'lek listened closely anyway, hoping to learn something, anything.

At the same time, the presence that had been standing behind her came up to the front of the group, joining the trio. He struck out at her verbally, calling her out for her thoughts, telling her she was wrong and mistaken. Looma truly was confused; this culture was entirely new to her. She didn't know right from wrong when it came to the Sith. But she was eager to hear the Dark Lord's comments.

A Sith Empire! Looma's heart swelled as she heard Darth Iniquitous speak. This was even better than she had hoped for when she decided to come with those dark Jedi on Bakura just days before. She had just wanted a better life, a life where she could practice what she wanted and be with who she wanted. But this man was talking about conquering the galaxy. She smiled and grabbed Cal's hand again, giving it a friendly squeeze. Once further trained, she would be happy to give herself to the Dark Lord's cause. Those silly Jedi would pay for letting go of her and her potential.

She didn't understand the in-fighting among the Sith that he was talking about; Looma was all new to this. But she could understand it. If they were similar in structure to the Jedi, she could think of a few Jedi herself that were always berating each other or trying to advance their own cause. The Jedi were not as innocent as they liked to portray themselves. However, by this man's words, it seemed the dark Jedi were even more lost in their ways than the Jedi were. Hopefully, Looma thought, this Darth would be able to fix all that.

The man acquiesced to Iniquitous's words, agreeing with him, but Looma could tell that he was still unsettled by his presence in the Force. But she didn't have much time to think on it as the woman before them started speaking. The rage she was pouring into the Force was almost stifling for the yellow Twi'lek. Her anger was unmistakable. Looma sat there next to Cal, listening to her words, letting them soak in for her to think about later.

She was intrigued by the woman's words and interested in what might happen next. Looma didn't catch the dark Jedi's words but he stepped back from the small group, obviously abiding his time. But then she heard a roaring sound and looked to the skies. A ship! Her heart cut in her throat--had the Jedi already come after their workers? Absentmindedly she clenched her fists, letting go of Cal's hand, and drew on the Force, ready to fight back if necessary. Those meddling Jedi wouldn't destroy this change for her.

But she needn't have worried, fore the newcomer appeared to be a dark Jedi as well, from what the Twi'lek felt in the Force coming from his person. She wondered why he was wearing some type of goggles on his face but shook the thought away. The man appeared arrogant. But not arrogance in the way that most dark Jedi had; his was more of an overconfidence, in her opinion. Perhaps this mysterious figure had a reason to feel such, but she doubted it.

Then suddenly some kind of reptilian being appeared among her and the other recruits. Looma chided herself from being distracted. Even for the dueler's portrayal of his twin in the fight with Iniquitous, the Twi'lek knew she was fairly proficient in the ways of telekinesis and telepathy. She should have felt this new presence as well, but he had somehow masked himself. By the time the figure fully registered to her, he was already at the front, speaking to the Dark Lord.

He spoke also of his possible allegiance to the dark side and to the Dark Lord. Looma wondered why all these dark Jedi were coming out of their holes on Korrban or even from longer distances like this confident goggled man. Perhaps they were just drawn to the wealth of gathered dark side power gained from the gathering of all the recruits from Bakura. And from the power expelled during Iniquitous's fight with the other dark Jedi. Whatever it was, she was there to wait for her chance.


[to Sticks and Stones...]

[Jenno]

(OOC: Okay, you may have noticed that my Iniquitous muse has been pretty much dead, so I apologise for the lateness of this post and also for how bad it is. My intention now is to get to concluding this thread as fast as we can because the sooner we can do that the sooner I’ll be able to say the temple is built.)

The sky dripped with a molten heat that bubbled over the arid moon of Korriban. One of the initiates felt as though his face was cracking under rays that poured down over him, and from a distance his skin would look almost as defined as the ground upon which this conglomeration stood. Darth Iniquitous stood amongst the numerous figures unaware that after this woman would finish speaking he would be assaulted by even more knights bathed in black. His presence coupled with the earth-crushing destruction of the old Sith Temple had sent out a message and people were flocking towards him, to answer.

And now he had to answer the questions which came at him. The woman who had been the first today to really question him about the beliefs and ideals of the Sith Order had said a lot in response to his own comments. He understood where she was coming from, time and time again the Sith would lead themselves to ruin and the Jedi would walk into the darkness in hopes of forcefully removing it completely. When one side grew to almost near-domination someone would return, almost carried by the winds of the Force, in order to return a balance. Iniquitous thought of himself as that person. His eyes, his age and his power were not normal by any standards, with so few years under his belt in comparison to most of those he came across it had to be the workings of the Force that allowed him to stand at the head of this new Order.

She would join, that was good, though like all the others who were currently masters he would have to keep a close eye on her. Finally he would speak to her, “It is not my intention to lead any of the Sith Order down a path that will see them be their own undoing. And the aristocrats mean little any more, soon the Empire will belong to the Sith Order and then will the true fear of the Sith be introduced to the hearts of the Republic. And those who have used the name of the Sith will pay for their pathetic weaknesses.” He was amused by her final comment, so much so a small smile hinted at the corners of his mouth. “There are things I could teach you about the Force that have been forgotten in this galaxy. And then there are things I can teach you which wont serve a great individual purpose, the lessons wont grant you any great power, but it will make the Sith stronger as a whole, in a similar fashion to trust.” He paused for a moment, his lips bade him to continue talking but he felt the Force ripple.

Leaving him with barely enough time to acknowledge Julius’ words with a nod Iniquitous observed as newcomers arrived, one with blast of a ship the other with a roar from his lungs. They came before him and they each said their piece. Iniquitous would listen to them and take in what they said, though at the same time he would need to be as cautious as he always was around new faces. Many Dark Jedi were highly unpredictable and he wouldn’t allow himself to die due to a lack of precaution, that was just unbecoming. Whilst the Force was with him he would still need to keep his wits otherwise he’d be dead in a heartbeat.

As the first man spoke Iniquitous thought how this man had said the words many thought, he was young. Many would see his soft skin as a sign of weakness and inexperience, the youthfulness on his face would make them think he wasn’t old enough to even hold a lightsaber. Once again it would deceive the unprepared and they would saunter into a trap of their own making. “Yes, it is my work. The destruction of these old ruins is the first step to not only building a new temple but a new age of Sith, one the Republic and Jedi will not be expecting. We welcome all of those who are willing to fight for our cause, it will be with the strength of the Sith teachings that the Sith Empire will bring the Republic to its knees. You have all felt the pull of the Force, the tremor of the earth. Already two have aligned themselves with the Sith, but what about both of you? You stand upon the brink of change, the decision to join us is a momentous one, the choice is yours.” As he finished speaking Iniquitous would wait silently, his desire to continue working on the temple was growing. They would need a place to call home and a system to institute. It was not only the two before him who stood before the tides of change; the entire beginnings of the Order were subject to so many unpredictable things. It would not be easy, but Iniquitous never thought anything would be.

[Karl the Unfettered]

Shard was delighted; there were so many already gathered here! One of them, an older looking woman, had in fact made the earth crack beneath her. Impatient, that one, he thought to himself, regarding her a little more closely as she made her displeasure known. Easily angered, easily manipulated. He knew better than most the nature of power, that no matter how much you had, if you let your emotions get the better of you your enemies would be quick to take you down. Which was why he maintained an air of sarcastic calm most of the time.

Then another one showed up, an alien with a loud voice and a servile attitude. He claimed to serve the Dark Side, and to Shard's glance appeared rather simple. Too long spent meditating beneath a rock, no doubt, he thought. He did look capable with a lightsaber, and doubtless had some talent, but after his blustering, impetuous entrance Shard had difficulty taking the noghri seriously.

But Iniquitous was speaking again, and such interesting things they were. "Ahh... I knew I was onto something important. The reformation of the true Sith Order," he said, as if to himself; yet his voice carried easily to all present, with no noticable effort on his own part. "Yet I wonder... the way of the Sith is destruction, chaos, not order; do you intend to subvert history and shape us in your own vision?"

He began pacing, hands folded behind his back, his voice level, idle and curious. "I once studied the history of this galaxy, you see, in the halls of the Jedi Temple. Oftentimes a stilted and biased history, of course, but nevertheless replete with facts and incidents of note." He wheeled slowly about, his gaze resting on Acayla. "One thing most of the histories agreed on was that those who followed the Dark Side were impulsive, driven to self-destruction, and prone to taking down many in their vicinities while doing so; how will you avoid such a fate for the new Order, Dark One?"

Again his attention shifted to Iniquitous, and he had a smirk on his face. "Will you play the part of the Jedi, impose restrictions and rules, force us to mind our manners and our thoughts? You won't last long, I expect; most Dark Jedi, as they call us, left the Jedi for that very reason. They sought to control us, bind and fetter our potential, keep us on leashes that were too short." He glanced at the ruined temple. "To slip back into fetters, accept the collar of enslavement about our necks once again..." For the first time that air of calm curiosity seemed to slip; at the mention of enslavement he scowled slightly, his face darkening at the thought of some unpleasant memory. "No. No, slavery is not an option."

The moment passed, and he was himself again. "Perhaps you will lead by example, then? Make grand speeches and displays of great power, power you could teach to the rest of us? Overawe us with martial prowess and shuffle us into line on pain of death at the tip of your lightsaber?" He chuckled, and extended a hand toward the ruins, concentrating on one of the larger remaining rocks. "You'll have to do better than that to impress some of us."

The rock, which looked to weigh about three hundred pounds, rose easily into the air about five feet. The Miraluka regarded it idly, turning it this way and that. "You destroyed a temple with your mind, and that is impressive, I'll grant you that," he went on, "but it was, after all... merely rock..." He cocked his head to the side, twisted his hand; the rock trembled, cracked slightly, then vibrated too quickly for normal sight to follow; Shard dropped his hand, faced the others again, and the rock fell back to the ground as so much useless red sand. It made a soft thwump as it hit the ground, sending up a little cloud of dust in every direction.

"And what of the current Empire, the pretenders?" he inquired, folding his hands behind his back again, no longer pacing but facing Iniquitous directly. "They are, as you say, false claimants of the Sith name, yet they are powerful nevertheless; they possess shipyards, fleets, armies, admirals and generals who will defend their masters to the end. And, too, they have... allies." He smirked slightly, and for reasons unknown his gaze flickered toward Julius.

"But, we have things they do not: we have the Force on our side." The sudden use of 'we' would not go unnoted, he was sure. "We have a common enemy, a cause, leadership to raly behind, and power like they could only dream of." His composure broke again; he grinned widely, leaning back just a little, his body tensing. "Will I join you? Will I put myself, my ship and my crew behind your cause? Well, why not? It might be fun!" and he laughed, a disconcerting laugh that did more to show his true temperament than all his words and gestures.

"But yes," and again he was back to normal with unnerving abruptness. "I and my men, the crew of the Midnight Sun, are pledged to your cause," and he bowed gracefully, the sort of bow not seen these days very often. "The cause of the Sith."

[Foxfire]

The Dark side force that was flowing around swirling in eddies suddenly calmed and started to flow in one direction. This was the sign that Cho Wroth had been waiting for. With the response from the Sith Lord and one that called him self Shard, the true flow began to flow through the group and the land.

Cho Wroth dived deeper in to the force. He often did this when searching the darkened sites of Korriban. As a side affect small bits of dust and sand would start to gather and swirl around him making a moving copy the Korriban. The darkest of the sands and dust would mark the strongest sites.

Cho Wroth spoke, The Dark Will of the Force is in agreement with this discussion. I will join my blood with yours or until the force denotes otherwise.

Cho was finally able to calm the things of his youth. Now he could finally go from student to a master. Many here he still did not see how they would turn in the force, but he would find out. The Dark Will of the Force had to be rebalanced and none would stand in his way.

[Apillis]

Acayla's brow furrowed in response to Iniquitous response to her words - even smiled a little. It was an answer she was hoping to hear. She merely humbly bowed her head to Iniquitous accepting his leadership. She served a master once before, and has been a master in the past. Often to gain greater power, greater understanding - the one who was once master has to regress to being the learner once again. Iniquitous seemed young, despite her looking around as old as him - around her twenties - she was a few decades older, but regardless, she recognized well-enough knowledge is not always dictated by age; and often times age can make one much less than what they are.

Which lead her to in turn her eyes to the old Miraluka as he essentially started off by asking Iniquitous the very question and point she already had made earlier... It was affirmed to her he is either four things... that this man is a fool, a disrespectful fool, simply does not pay attention to what transpires around him, or simply does not wish to respect any of those outside of those whom he is blatantly trying to curry favor with - making for a horrible manipulator as all such types tend to be... Or, perhaps, he is all of the above... She could not help but figure the latter at this point as he appeared to be hell bent on a play of power. For all ones perceptions like Miraluka behold, perceiving means nothing if you cannot evade the incoming strike, and someone crushing ones frail frame with their mind is not exactly something easily evaded even if perceived before-hand. Hence, why it is wise not to annoy, manipulate, or just purposefully anger those whom one is ignorant to - what could be powerful allies immediately turn into powerful enemies.

Albeit, she could not help but smirk a dash at thought of how well received his arrogance and dismissive manner would be by others who join the cause. People seldom are impressed by condescension and outright disrespect - it turns one into an isolationist more than anything else. Well, nevertheless, it maybe entertaining for her to watch him from a distance treating others with the same dismissive manner as he has treated and is continuing to treat her with, and see how well or for how long the others are willing to put up with it.

Though after his posturing, it was then the Noghri gave his answer to the Dark Lord, and that solidified it, she as she idly commented, "It seems each gathered here has elicited to join the Sith Order, my Lord.", following up with one of the more important questions at this point, "That said - what now? What will you have us do starting now in the name of the Sith?"

[Jenno]

The eerily youthful face of Iniquitous sliced into a small smile. More had come to him and more had joined the Sith, truly the Force had guided him to this point, to such a time when there were those ripe and ready to rally their anger and hate under one banner. This Order would struggle at first, their numbers would be small but their power was undeniable, once they had begun the training of new recruits they would be able stand evenly and openly against the Jedi Order, which right now was set to be their biggest obstacle.

From the mouth of the Miraluka poured more questions, the same questions that all those before him had asked. Of course he would answer; he would answer the questions directed towards him assuming he had an answer. And if he did not know then he would say all he could, give all he could, that’s all he had ever done. “I am glad to see that you are all willing to join the Sith and I will answer your questions shortly, though I’m sure that these initiates would likely be able to answer just as well. However, time is of the essence and whilst there are those who are currently fighting for the future of this Order, work must be done to make sure they have a home to return to.”

He faced towards the ruins once again to see that the clouds of dust previously kicked up from the initial destruction of the structure had now settled. Rocks no longer tumbled as the ruins returned to their lifeless state; it was almost sickening for him to look at them so. The ruins symbolised the hundreds of years that the Sith had been gone from this galaxy, ‘defeated’ some might say. But he would remove this decrepit monument, shatter all it stood for. But he would not do it alone.

As he observed the ruins through the force he heard the voice of the female Dark Master once again. What came next? He had to think about that himself, their next step, his next word, each could carry a crucial weight. But they would step forward into the uncertainty that awaited them in order to carve out the future they wanted. Iniquitous would create the galaxy he wanted and see a true era of peace. And for that purpose he would teach, he would make people think the way he did, to see the truths and necessities that were so painstakingly obvious to him and yet seemed either ignored or lost upon those who had the ability to make a difference.

His reply eventually surfaced, “now we learn, teach and grow in order to prepare ourselves for the trials that await. For now we will stay hidden from the Jedi until this Order is ready to meet them on the battlefield. It is time to start working together,” he said and looked around to all those present, Masters, Knights and previous slaves to the Jedi system, “will you join me?” He raised his hand, and focused once again on the temple, but this time he could feel others working with him, driving their minds towards the same purpose. Together they would bring these ruins down and in their place they would build an Empire.