Re: The Power Within

by **Emperor Cadamor** Wed Jul 31, 2019 7:45 pm

Cadamor moved to the edge of the cliff, his back to Bandari as he felt the pulsing power of the Dark Side emanate all around his world. Deep in the caverns of Dathomri, their corporal forms phased in and out of reality, but he felt Angkor around them, tangible and wild. He had learned long ago, this power was like tossing a rock in the river, where it would disrupt and ripple through reality, only for the river to correct itself once more.

“You have seen endless ages of this universe.” This creature bore a signature in the Force completely unique to what Cadamor had sensed in others, only vaguely reminiscent of the spirts of the ancient Sith Lords. “The light and dark erupt in conflict, endless wars envelop the galaxy and then fade away. The light falters and the dark strikes. The darkness rises and light eventually to meet it. The dark falls but is never truly vanquished, only bides it’s time before striking once more. All this for some semblance of ‘balance’ for some vain measure stretching the eons of eternity while billions die.”

He looked out to Angkor, a planet deep in Wild Space that was long disconnected from the civilized galaxy. Large sprawling tropical jungles with tall, lush canopies, through which Cadamor spied orange sun-kissed mountain ridges in the distant horizon. The wide array of native plant, fungal, and animal life had evolved to dominate the environment in a deep symbiotic relationship, causing significant Force energy to permeate the ecosystem. Deep in the bellows of the world, the heat of the Dark Side moved across the heavy air.

“Doubt creeps in your mind, your fear betrays you.” Cadamor turned to Bandari. “The disciples of the Dark Side have been called to me. Generations ago, the Jedi gathered us up and fired us far out into the outer rim. Like an arrow,” Cadamor smiled. “right at the birth of the Sith Empire.”

“The Jedi believe themselves stronger now, having understood what Sith knew long ago about emotions. Yet they are weak, letting their passion rule them.” The Sith Lord remembered the presence of their Grandmaster. Broken, bent by war. Cadamor could feel the cold of the Dathomri cave on his skin, the stale wind and its dying light. “That is the passion which empowers you.”

“This place has become your grave. You will remain only to wither and rot alongside this world." Cadamor felt a rush of heat through his chest, the seething power and furnace emanating from the creature.

"Only conflict is the true test of one's ability. Stagnation is death. There are secrets in the galaxy hidden by the veil of the Dark Side. It is only in the dark that we see clearly, and there is a great dark hidden among these worlds.”

The Dark Lord’s eyes turned to others blades, feeling the weight of fallen foes heavy in each. Only through conflict, the Dark Lord mused. Through the darkness of ancient Sith, his chains had been broken. The galaxy felt the shadow of the Sith, letting it fester in their hearts as the Dark Lord’s machinations began to take shape. From beneath his dark robes, Cadamor revealed two small golden-white hilts. From their ends, there were small red circles marked with the symbol of the Sith. Cadamor felt, before he heard, the snap-hiss of the twin blades as bright crimson cast at his feet. The weapons were heavy in his hands, warm and powerful. Through the Dark Lord, the lightsabers would become eternal symbols of the elevation of the strong and the death of the weak.

“Through power, I gain victory.”

by **Bandari** Wed Aug 14, 2019 8:59 am

Bandari had gradually taken two small steps backwards as the Emperor was speaking. He knew that combat was upon them, but the confidence he had felt before, the thrill of the manipulation and subsequent slaughter of the vanguard, all of it had fizzled away. The Emperor was right. Doubt was creeping in his mind, and his fear was apparent. He began to channel his energies, centering himself and preparing for the inevitable.

"So you know of me. You know what I can do. And you seek to use me for your own gain, to unveil these... secrets across the galaxy."

He tensed and dropped into a combat stance, his left hand blade held high, crossed diagonally in front of his head and upper body, while the right hand remained low, pointing forwards, ready to slash. Bandari had fought lightsaber wielding foes before, but all but one had only fought with a single blade, one time with a double bladed one. To fight a clearly powerful Force user with two blades meant that Bandari's usual advantage - in having four potentially lethal threats - was far less significant.

"Yet for all your power, you cannot see. What you believe to be victory, is not. The way your code ends - through victory, your chains are broken, the Force shall free you - belies the ultimate failings of the Sith. To believe that victory has been obtained and thus your chains are broken, yet never truly understanding what victory is. Never truly realising that your chains remain. You are to be forever shackled, just as those who have come before you, from Naga Sadow to Sidious. To view gaining power as all that is needed for victory, and therefore to equate gaining power to becoming free... one does not need my gift to see the failings in such a philosophy."

He felt power ripple through his ancient muscles as he prepared to leap into action.

"And that is why you will die. Either here, now, or in the future. Either I will kill you, or you will kill me. Either outcome means you will fail to gain the power you desire, and with it, victory will become unobtainable. You will be shackled for the rest of your life, however long that might be."

Bandari let loose the power he had been channelling, sending a blast of pure Force energy towards his foe, a kinetic charge that he had honed into more of a spearhead than a wall. He had seen men have holes blasted through them entirely by this in the past, but he expected - hoped, even - that the Emperor would be prepared. It was not as if he had disguised his preparation for the fight. A fight he now leapt into, soaring to more than a dozen feet - close to the ceiling of the cave - left hand blade slashing down, right hand stabbing forward.

by **Emperor Cadamor** Sat Aug 17, 2019 11:03 pm

Blood pumped through the Emperor’s body, pulses thundering like storm clouds that raised into a snarl, a wild power rising like rage in his throat. He was the beast born of Angkor, the warrior made by the wrath of worlds. The wave of power crashed over him, the intense power of the Force crackling to life as it washed over him. He stood still as he felt thousands of small teeth sinking further into his skin as the Orbalisk shell took the brunt of the force. Before the attack touched his skin, it had become a new source for him to feed upon. He rose to his full height, the bright sun of Angkor casting shadows across his horns.

“You’ve blinded yourself with what you cling to for truth, hiding deep in the dark places of the world. What victory has desolation brought you?”

His twin crimson blades came up to his chest, the power of his rage blasting away the attack. He spun with one blade flying high over head as the weapon of his foe twisted around towards his neck. He brought up his lower blade to capture the attack before they both detached and he swirled his lightsaber back towards Bandari. When his people told the legends of their God-King, he was the mighty warrior anointed by the gods to conquer and command their world. Then taking the power of the krin’desh for himself and claiming the title of the Dark Lord of the Sith as he became the mykalun, Ender of Ages.

“Be what you were meant to be.”

His lightsaber’s came across his face before slashing powerfully towards the creatures side. The creature used one of the blades to redirect one blade so it could twist above the other to dodge. An attack came soaring at Cadamor’s face, and so the wrist twisted under the control of the Force as the blade faltered enough for the Emperor to bat the weapon away. His eyes flashed golden, a wave of heat poured through him as his rage formed into arches of twisting lighting. The mountaintop crashed with purple light as the alien rolled beneath the first stream only to catch another on one arm. As the Emperor let out a savage roar, the alien came twisting back up, jumping through the air with two deadly strikes across the Dark Lord’s shoulders. The Angkorian warrior bent down as he rose one blade in a powerful slash, spinning Bandari before he landed and found the Sith’s other blade moving at his stomach. The creature caught it with it’s weapon, only moments from a clean cut across it’s core. The Sith stood tall with his blades in a new opening stance.

“I too know the power in the foundations of the worlds, to center oneself in the darkness of caves. That is where the Dark Side found me. Where the Sith came to me as spirits to awake the Empire. Let your heresy be burned away, reforged as faith in the actions of the one true Sith’ari. The legacy of the Sith, it has given me the gift to walk, from place to place like here, far across the world. To worlds long ago, see places long dead. To know their power.”

The Emperor did not move while the world began to shake around him. Even if Bandari doubted, the truth of the Dark Side remained. They were not here in the mountains of Angkor, they existed within the binding power of the Force, but the mountain top crumbled into pieces. The Dark Lord stood on the only remaining piece of the mountain, he reached out in the Force to clench the creature’s throat as it hung in the air. Before it happened, the Emperor found an impressive monsoon of the Force crash over Bandari before he released an explosion of Force energy to break the hold. As the Emperor began to levitate, ground formed from the mountain beneath him and the creature leaped to the new floating isles of stone at top the mountain peak. The creature was swift, moving from one stone platform to another. As Cadamor disintegrated one isle with his mind, Bandari would leap and cast a counter attack at the Sith. When they were finally back face to face, the creature swung low for a vicious slide kick but Cadamor was quick to glide in the air, twisting above them as he landed on a passing stone, only to bring it rocketing back down with the Force and crush them both into the ground. The creature landed on one of his knees as it slowly raised back up to his full height. The Emperor was standing, now once again in the darkness of Dathomir as the scenes of Angkor melted away, it’s shining light fading.

“I will break you. When darkness finds you, it will be only by my design. You will only find peace in your hunger by my hand.”

The Dark Lord of the Sith took a few steps closer as the creature gripped it’s weapons. As Cadamor walked past the corpses, they twitched and withered. Their skin sinking into their bones, even now giving the Angkorian Emperor their strength. They were no longer alone, now other figures moved in the shadow. All around Bandari, there were a dozen Cadamors drawing in to him. Bandari’s blades became a blur of steel, cutting them each down as the disappeared into the damp cave. Only more would appear to strike. Each one bearing more chains, each older and ancient, broken and radiating with the Dark Side.

“And in my death, I will burn out. Bright and harsh like a star, an implosion that will fracture the universe forever. I will not die here. I was born for the death of the universe.”

The red lightsabers roared as they came, the final and real form of Cadamor attacking from behind. Bandari flipped, using the momentum of the Dark Lord’s attack to flank him. One of the sharp blades moved right past his cheek and caused the Angkorian to wildly swat their blade. As the next attack came, the Sith’s hands pulsed with dark violet energy and the blade froze in the air, giving Cadamor just the hesitation he planned. He used one of his blades to flip over the creature, slide their weapon to cross both the steel blades as the other neatly cut off the right hand of the creature.

The charred stump fell to the floor, the smell wafting in the air. The Dark Lord detached, but the creature continued it’s attack despite its wound. Cadamor smiled to himself. The Dark Lord’s mind had been bent upon his growing plans, this unique vessel of the Force made up of a windstorm of power would be a welcome addition. As he knocked down another blow, the Emperor rose his blade to bridge the gap between them, halting the duel with a brief stand still.

“Do you know how the galaxy moves around you, rotting like a corpse? It has been forged in fire for so long, becoming malleable and ready to collapse. The Empire prepares to strike the heart of the Alliance, while the Mandolorians prepare for a new crusade. The Force arises once more. The galaxy has grown wild, thousands of hunters claiming their small kingdoms. I will destroy all the galaxy has been. I will fix the broken axis which our history has been made to orbit.”

As the Sith’s changed one of his blades to a reversed grip, he charged forward in a blinding dash. The lightsaber knocked the creatures weapons high as he kicked it hard in the chest. The warrior charged forward, trying to use the advantageous it’s large frame. As Bandari brought it’s weapons towards the Emperor, he could feel the tempest awakening within the creature, Incredible power that could be used to move further Cadamor’s understanding of the Dark Side, a piece of power to ignite his plans. As a warrior, as an Angkorian, as Sith he knew that power was bought only through pain and sacrifice. His blade slashed forward, sending a flurry of powerful blows that clashed along the creatures defense. Each swing growing stronger, the might of the Dark Side rising through each until Bandari’s blades were forced wide. With the precision of an ancient master, his lightsaber slid through the creature’s defenses and sliced through the rest of it’s right arm close to the shoulder. Bandari’s body was forced to kneel as the Emperor poured his malice and power into the wound, letting the pain overcome his senses.

“Come let me forge eternity.”

by **Bandari** Wed Aug 28, 2019 9:44 am

Bandari had not known pain of this kind in generations. The first blow that saw his hand, and with it, Wax, clatter to the ground was more of a shock than anything else, the lightsaber instantly cauterising the stump and preventing the nerve endings from surging with agony like a cut from a conventional blade. But the true pain came from the assertion that came with it, the dominance, the authority that the Emperor was driving into him, searing his flesh far more painfully than any lightsaber could.

The loss of the hand and the blade also had the effect of throwing Bandari's balance off. He had been so used to fighting with the two elaborate and heavy weapons for so many years that he had become naturally attuned to the weight each one added and could move using that weight to increase or decrease his speed. Losing one threw his centre of gravity off entirely. But by that point, it didn't matter; the fight was already lost, and it was a mere few seconds before Cadamor took off his forearm entirely, severing his right arm off just a few inches under his shoulder.

That one hurt through humiliation. Bandari had seen before the fight that the outcome of his death would be, in a way, his victory, or at the very least, deny victory to the Emperor. Bandari did not fear death, nor did he perceive death to be the end; he had seen many ways in which one could continue to affect the physical world through the Force long after death. Existence as a Force ghost, in many ways, appealed more to Bandari than existence as a physical being. And he had planned from the moment the Emperor set foot in his cave that if he could not kill him, to kill himself.

And yet, despite that resolution, Bandari found himself kneeling in front of the Emperor. His left hand loosened of its own volition and Wane dropped to the floor as well. Bandari's head remained low, his eyes looking at the ground but not seeing anything in particular other than faint splatters of blood and the Emperor's boots. He had, once again, failed to see something right in front of him. He had failed to conceive of or understand the power the Emperor wielded, he had failed to forsee his ascension or his arrival, and he had failed to see how he could utilise the Force in ways Bandari had never known. The cost of this failure was his utter defeat, humiliation... and submission.

From his kneeling position, as the Force was driven into him from the Emperor like salted needles piercing every pore in his skin, Bandari looked up, not showing even a grimace despite the horrific pain wracking every fibre of his being, physically and spiritually. The words he spoke felt necessary, and although they seemed to come from his own will, they did not feel as if they were truly his own.

"I... submit," he hissed. "I could end my life right now, in this moment, to deny myself to you and with it, whatever victory you might have thought you have won. Yet despite everything I have seen, you have shown me things I did not ever conceive of. Perhaps there is more to you than I had thought."

His words did not feel natural at all, and Bandari felt as though both he and the Emperor knew full well he was understating the reality, although the Emperor did not interject.

"What is it you wish of me? Tell me what it is you came here for, and I will do all I am capable of to make it happen. If you desire to know the secrets of the galaxy, I will reveal all I have known. If you wish to seek out a lost being or object, I can help you locate it. If you crave the power to see into the very minds of any who might oppose you, I can let you in... but all I request in return is that, once my use to you has expired, you permit me to leave, to return to solitude and my own pursuits of knowledge and understanding. Or, failing that, I beseech that you allow me to die."

The words the Emperor had spoken during the last moments of the fight came through to Bandari now, as the heat of the battle and the blows he had suffered had almost prevented him from comprehension in the moment.

"If your purpose is the death of the universe, the birth of a legacy, the... forging of eternity, and you feel that my existence is a necesary component for the realisation of that destiny, then so be it; my life is yours. However, you must understand that my gift is not simple prediction or fortune telling. If I see in you an alternate path, if I predict that the road you travel will not lead to the victory you expect, and instead will only further enslave you... it is up to you to heed me. I can show you the universe, and you can decide then how you will reshape it."

Bandari did not fully expect the Emperor to listen to him. After all, for everything he might have known about Bandari, he had shown in just a few moments the failings and weakness Bandari had not prepared for in tens of thousands of years. But for all the pressure to submit, both externally and internally, the desire to preserve some element of his autonomy, that which had been so pivotal to his existence all this time, overrode everything.

"Otherwise, my use to you will not be as extensive as you might have hoped."

by **Emperor Cadamor** Thu Aug 29, 2019 10:26 pm

The creature was on his knees before the Emperor and when it finished speaking Cadamor disengaged his twin lightsabers. The Force began moving in the cavern, invisibly swirling between the pair as Cadamor felt the soul of Dathomir stir.

The Emperor had awoken the very essence of Bandari, the Force and spirit within him, and they communed as he spoke. The presence rushed past Bandari’s face in wisps of blue and white like a racing river. The Emperor drew close, the immense heat of the Dark Side radiating from him. His voice was low, a whisper half in Bandari’s mind.

“I will show you the path to what you seek. And if it is death you crave, then I will reward you. But in life, you will be an instrument of my will.”

The Dark Lord rose, returning the pearl hilts into his armor as he turned his back to the creature.

“You will have many uses for my cause. Then you shall see how we will shape this galaxy.”

He felt a familiar presence, a wave moving across the air like a chill wind. His apprentice was returning. The Dark Lord looked around the cave, his eyes dimmed as he scanned the corpses still on the ground. He turned his large frame to Bandari, the wound radiating in his Force presence. The Emperor examined through his spirit, like a surgeon seeking something secret. He knew the creature would feel the flash of power, but just as certain it wouldn’t know it’s purpose.

“For now, I shall take you to my world.” He made a small wave of his clawed hand, beckoning to follow. “You will rest in the spirit of the darkness. There, the Ancient lords of the Sith will purge your soul. You will see the power of the Sith reborn in the shape of the Angkorian.” The Dark Lord began to lead the way out of the deep caverns.

by **Bandari** Thu Aug 29, 2019 10:42 pm

A million possibilities entered Bandari's thoughts as the Emperor turned and began to walk out of the cave, leading him as if by an invisible leash. He considered leaping onto the broad backed alien, using his sharp teeth to dig into the exposed flesh by the neck, his legs wrapping around the Emperor's midriff, preventing him from accessing his lightsabers, Bandari's one good arm scrabbling for purchase, trying to grasp one of the two hilts, to activate it, the blade piercing through the Emperor and through Bandari alike.

Yet despite himself, in that moment, all he could do was awkwardly rise to his feet, his joints trembling as he adjusted to hauling his considerable frame up without the use of an arm. The Emperor had already left the main chamber, not willing to waste any further time. Power. Authority. All of it bandied back and forth with each line of dialogue, each deliberate choice of body language. Despite himself, despite seeing this and being wholly aware of it, Bandari found himself again in a position of subservience.

He took two uneven steps forward before casting a look behind him. The tip of Wane, cast down, teetering on a small incline on the ground, still nearly reached his foot. A few feet away, with his seared hand still gripping tight, Wax lay discarded, the blood of its last slain enemies dried entirely, spatters in different shades of crimson mixing together across its dull silver and the dark grey of the rocks below, small fragments drifting atop the water pools. Bandari stretched out his left hand for a moment towards Wane. Then he stopped, stood up straight, turned and left his home behind with a purposeful stride.

He had spent millenia within the confines of a single cave. He had seen the galaxy, or so he had thought, and yet he had been blind to an integral part of it. Now, not only would he have the chance to see, but he would be able to live and breathe the universe once more.

That thought excited him to no end.

by **Emperor Cadamor** Sat Aug 31, 2019 11:04 am

In the chill of twilight, the Dark Lord stood in the vast wasteland of Dathomir as Bandari approached. Next to the Emperor was a thin figure, dressed in heavy black robes, and with the same red-skin of the Angkorian. His horns twisted out from his forehead, arching towards his back. He spoke to the Dark Lord from one knee.

“The Mother says a Clan has hidden in the Auril sector.” The apprentice’s voice was smooth, a far heavier accent than his master. “Their neutrality has become a...” The apprentice trailed off, surely having sensed Bandari far sooner. He turned black eyes on the creature, rising next to the Emperor’s side.

“My apprentice, Darth Umbarat.” The Emperor spoke. “Bandari.” The Sith apprentice approached Bandari, the same pale yellow glow in his eyes. “Come. The Empire awaits.”

During the journey, the Emperor kept himself confined in the lone quarters provided in the shuttle. Two pilots kept to themselves in the cockpit, though Bandari had seen them after the first day, a colorful Zeltron and grey-furred Bothan. In the main hold, the Sith apprentice and Bandari traveled in solitude and meditation. The sheer scale of energy in the Force radiating in the shuttle was monumental. Umbarat’s signature was wholly unique and near opposite of his master, while still strong with the essence of the Dark Side. While the Dark Lord’s power was a forge, a furnace of incredible power that poured the burning strength of the darkness, while the apprentice was cool, chilling like the night air.

They each sensed the presence of the world even before they dropped out of Hyperspace. Umbarat stood and Bandari could feel the weight of his gaze.

“You would do well to shield yourself.” It was the first words the apprentice spoke to the creature. “The glory of Angkor is not meant for the weak.”

The Emperor finally ventured from his chamber, now adorned in a swathes of red-orange robes that covered his broad chest and fell down to his knees. Golden chains linked across his neck, an emblem of the Sith laid across his heart. As the Dark Lord approached, Bandari felt the inertia of the shuttle gliding to real space as though Cadamor willed it. Bandari saw the Emperor close his eyes, his Force presence opening until Bandari felt it stretch far out beyond the ship. Cadamor centered himself in the spirit of Angkor, wild and untamed. It stirred the blood and made one feel alive. The Emperor took himself into the cockpit as Umbarat motioned Bandari towards the viewport.

“Korriban reborn, as it once was. How it was always meant to be.”

Angkor was a beautiful orb of swirling blue waters and streaks of lush green land. Even from this distance, it crawled with millions of lives and the call of the Dark Side filled the space all around it. In orbit, small ships floated like angry insects, each drawn to the super massive, dark-hulled capital ship in the center with the markings of some unknown Destroyer variant. On the dark side of the world, a handful of other capital ships slowly moved in alignment with the system’s glowing star. As the shuttle descended, the Emperor returned and began to address his apprentice.

“We travel to Scardia II.” As he spoke, Bandari could feel the presence of the Sith far below. The planet was perfectly isolated, perfectly contained as a pure vessel for the rebirth of the Sith. “Ensure a transport arrives before nightfall.”

“Yes, mykalun.” Umbarat said.

Breaking through the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere of the planet, it felt like a punch in the gut. The world buzzed, electric to those reaching out in the Force. The lush green grew into huge jungles, large stretches of the wild dotted with every color of the galaxy. As they drew further north, mountains began stretching high into the sky while their shuttle continued descending. A large mountain, peaked with white and the faded green of ancient moss, came into view as they began to land near it’s base. With each movement, waves of the Dark Side began crashing over Bandari until he was close to being unable to stand. Something powerful stirred here. Something ancient and undiluted. The Emperor lead the party towards the boarding ramp and with the hiss of steam, it began to open as the bright sun and call of animals filled the shuttle.

The air hung heavy, moist and still. They were surrounded by trees taller than starships, wisps of the pale yellow sun shimmered through the vast canopy of leaves. For those in tuned with the Force, it crawled with enough power and lives to assault the senses. The Emperor drew further, approaching a crack into the foundation of the mountain.

“I am not sure that I sense the spirit of Sith within you.” Umbarat said, standing beside Bandari. “And unbelievers will not withstand the krin’desh.”

“The Prophets have sensed my presence.” The Emperor’s voice boomed. “Umbarat, tell them of my arrival. I shall join you soon.” The apprentice was quick to turn on his heels, moving back up the boarding ramp and leaving Bandari alone with the Emperor once more. The shuttle began to ascend high up in the mountains venturing towards a speck far above them. It appeared to be huge, distant fortress carved into the rock face with starships circling it.

“This is my world. Angkor.” Cadamor. “Unknown, unshaped by the galaxy. Molded by only conflict and now the rise of the Sith.”

by **Bandari** Tue Sep 03, 2019 9:49 am

Bandari stayed mostly quiet during the journey. It had been a very long time since he had participated in interstellar travel, and the flight brought back memories. Memories of when his father had taken him away from Korriban, when the Great Hyperspace War first broke out; how the galaxy suddenly erupted into conflict utilising the new technology and Bandari's parents saw fit to hide him, to protect him. He gazed out of the small window at the streaks of the stars as they went by. It was difficult to swallow the pain of his failure to see this world and the people within it. How could he have been so blind? Something must have obscured his vision. Somehow.

The world of Angkor was beautiful. Nothing like Korriban. Where Korriban was a desolate world, with minimal life and all life that there was corrupted by its taint, this world was vibrant, full of life, and all of it driven towards the purpose of the Emperor. It was a marvel, how he had steered the very existence of a planet to his own ambitions. But so many had done so in the past, and they had always failed, one way or another.

"You know," Bandari spoke softly, "you could simply have come to me, spoken to me. Told me what you sought, what you needed me for. It needn't have required bloodshed. Your men would still be alive."

He thought back to the cave, the feeling he felt when the soldiers first entered his lair, the way in which he tunnelled into their minds, turned them against each other, and slaughtered them with relative ease. At least there was the grounding that even some of the Emperor's personal guard stood no chance against him. Whatever the outcome might be, Bandari at least knew that he could fight his way out.

As they walked on the planet's surface for the first time, Bandari began to hear the signatures of the beings on the world in their millions, the way the Force connected all of them together. It was rejuvanating. Yet the one the Emperor had introduced him to, this Umbarat, bristled with hostility.

Bandari took a long stride ahead of the Emperor and his apprentice and turned to them, stopping them in their tracks. He proffered the stump of his arm.

"You know what happens when a lightsaber meets flesh. The charcoal like nature of the skin, the blackened ruin of muscle. You saw that when you inflicted this wound upon me. Look now."

The stump had smoothened out, his grey skin covering the wound in its entirety. It looked as a similar amputation would only years of treatment down the line. And it appeared as if there had been a small growth of the arm from the point in which the Emperor's second slash had severed it.

"You do not sense the spirit of the Sith, as you know them, because you are blind to what the Sith have been." Bandari said, his voice soft and near monotone. "You may have been taught well by one far more powerful than you, but you know nothing of the history of the Force and those who wield it."

Bandari looked briefly at the Emperor and then back to Umbarat, to check if the Emperor was about to intervene to defend his apprentice or not.

"You are arrogant, and your arrogance blinds you. I am here to help your master to see. If you doubt me, you doubt him. And foolish though you might be, I doubt you are fool enough to question one who could snap you in two if he so much as willed it."

Taking the moment of Umbarat's surprise at such a verbal assault, Bandari reached out with the Force to drive a point of pressure into the back of his knees. This was a bold move, and the Emperor may well choose to reprimand him. But that would only serve to further prove his point; that the Emperor was beyond either of them, but Bandari was not to be disrespected by some headstrong dark sider. The Force slammed into Umbarat at Bandari's command and drove him to his knees.

"You will respect me as you respect him. Learn your place, and you may learn to grow to achieve genuine power. Else you will fail to be anything more than a lapdog for those far beyond you."

by **Emperor Cadamor** Thu Sep 05, 2019 2:44 am

Darth Cadamor felt the presence of the Force shift like the breath of Angkor gliding across the thick breeze. It weighted heavy, distorting gravity until it’s target, his apprentice, bowed beneath it. Cadamor felt it like ripples in the world’s current and there was a darkness in it which warmed his chest.

He was the first Angkorian in 10,000 years to unite the bloodlines and kingdoms of the wild world. Far in the dangerous southern jungles, he had survived deep beyond the traveled lands. Hidden in the vast ocean of nature, he came across a cavern, not unlike the one made to confine Bandari, and another creature had battled Cadamor then. The Shadowscale was an ancient winged-mount of the Angkorian and vicious predator. On their backs, the ancestors of his world had conquered royal houses and kingdoms until the great Empire was born. But with no sighting of the creatures in decades, the beast that attacked Cadamor was incredibly dangerous but only by defeating it could the warrior make it submit. Proud of his newly claimed war-steed, ready to dominate the lands of Angkor, the Shadowscale brought Cadamor to this place, deep in the mountains where only darkness lingered. Now the Dark Lord knew the creature was Force-sensitive, drawn to the immense power here, but Cadamor was sure his own power had drawn out the creature first. He was the key, which unlocked the heart of Angkor, the power of the krin’desh, spirits of the ancient ones, the glory of the Sith.

“Be mindful, Bandari. Do not idly test the fury of the Angkorian. What you faced on Dathomir were warriors. Mighty, but untouched by the Dark Side and without the guiding presence of the krin’desh.” The Emperor approached Bandari. The creature held the weight of history, its soul scarred with the burdens of time. “They serve their Empire absolutely, even in death. I can assure you death, Bandari.” The Emperor drew close to Bandari, enough that his presence would begin to expand in the creatures head. “Death that will bend and break this galaxy, until it is unmade, ready to be remade and reborn. How our...father’s wanted.” The Emperor slowly moved back, eyes shimmering. “And do you still presume that my apprentice would be without power?” There was a vision, a flash in Cadamor’s mind as the ghostly spectral of Naga Sadow stood tall over him, like the spirit the Emperor had communed with many times, but in Bandari’s mind he twisted into the red-skinned Sith flesh and heavy golden armor.

Cadamor’s eyes fell to the healed side of Bandari, but he felt at it through the Force to sense the wound being calmed by the creature’s own strengths. He felt the Force in Bandari, nebulous and ancient, worn and still electric. As young man, Cadamor had served the Angkorian off world, keeping careful eyes on a careless galaxy. As a warrior, he brought conquest and with the powers of the Sith, he ascended as God-King and Emperor to unify. His plans had already taken root in the galaxy, beginning their slow ascension. The Emperor felt Bandari’s presence in those events, but the illusive spirit and presence had infused with the creatures soul.

“There are a great many things you will see.” He turned to approach Umbarat still kneeling. The apprentice kept his head low, but began to rise. The Emperor put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Do you fear the conflict bred of the Sith? The Sith way.” The Emperor’s back was to Bandari, but he still felt the weight of the Dark Lord’s words aimed at him. “In your service, you will show me, but there are secrets which you will only find answers to through me. Like Angkor, how it was hidden from you. The destiny of the Force, the legacy and mantle before us both, the rise of the Sith.” In this cave, Cadamor had discovered the undisturbed nexus of energy, a pure source of the Force which ignited to life upon his presence. This was the raw power of the Dark Side and the awakening spirt of ancient Sith such as Naga Sadow, Darth Nihilius, Darth Sidious, Anneddu, Krayt, and more. For months, he was a vessel for all the might of the Dark Side, the echoes of eternity raging in his soul. Powers beyond all of Angkor, beyond those in the galaxy, he lived only by the will of the altar of the darkness hidden beneath the mountain. Gifted in ways the ancient Sith had purified and learning amazing feats of power, he was anointed with two powers which would bend the axis of worlds. One power kept secret, the other he had displayed to Bandari. His ability to flow walk surpassed any found in archives, able to move anywhere, to any event, see nearly anything he desired. Deep below the mountain, the Dark Lord of the Sith was perfected in the image of the Sith. In years he lived lifetimes. “There resides a tempest in you. The Force bent like a wound until you allow it to find firm ground to grow. Let me show you the ways of the Force. Let me show you the way of the Sith.”

Umbarat froze, no longer struggling to stand, his eyes drew distant and stayed wide. Slowly, in his same bent pose, the Sith apprentice began to raise into the air, his hands on his knees.

“The power you find here will not stave your hunger. That secret is made only for the Dark Lord of the Sith. I awoke this world, my power that reignited the flame of the Dark Side. The vessel for which the [ikrin’desh[/i] was unlocked.” The Emperor raised a fist in front of him. “Feel this planet, see it through the Force as I do.” He outstretched, the energy is the Force naturally pouring from him like waves. “Danger, conflict, passion, life, a true birth for the Sith Empire. As in the days of the ancient ones, before the Great War.” Cadamor’s gaze met Bandari. “It is the proof. Feel this world to know everything I am. You must break the fear, the doubt in your soul, for it enslaves it. Let yourself see the mystery of the universe once more.”

The Sith Apprenrice, Darth Umbarat, began floating closer to Bandari as the Dark Lord walked beside it.
“Clear your ambitions and relive the passion that once burned in you.” Suddenly, Umbarat collapsed to the ground, only catching himself with amazingly quick reflexes. “Kill my apprentice. Take his place beside me.” The Emperor voice grew hazy, like it was emanating from the mountain walls. “Do you fear your own loyalty may be thrown aside?” Umbarat stood, his eyes still at the ground but now shifting.. “You may test my apprentice, but you will not test me.” The Dark Lord began to encircle the pair. “Kill him. The apprentice of the Dark Lord, hand of his will, herald to the secret mysteries of the Sith. If you prove able, I will grant you Lordship, you will take up your own title.” The Sith’s eyes ventured up, high above them to the fortress. “Scardia will be your own, to see that which others will not.” Umbarat shifted, a dark red hand resting on a silver-black lightsaber at his waist.

“Or let the darkness blaze a new path.” The Emperor stood behind Umbarat, eyes burrowing into Bandari. “The Dark Side has granted a gift, a purpose for us both. Rest in the presence of the krin’desh, close yourself from the worlds and commune with the spirits.” Cadamor had survived within the caves for months, after only a few days Bandari would be a mighty channel for the purposes of the Sith plans. The Emperor began walking past then both and back towards the cave before stopping. “You are stepping into history unwritten. The Dark Side can use you for purposes far greater than the galaxy has known before. But in this, you must decide your fate. It must be your own choice.”

“And know this, whatever occurs,” The Emperor looked at them both “will only further the path of the Sith.”

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