Ziost - Crown of the Sith Empire

Once more, Xyll's footsteps echoed through the hallways as she approached the chambers of Darth Arya. She had returned; and there was *much* to discuss with her master. Much indeed.

Arya was in the garden, this time in a chair with repulsor fields allowing her to float around.

She looked asleep.

"Master," she said as she approached, not believing the old crone was actually asleep, "I have returned from Korriban."

She had returned a fair bit sooner of course, but things had happened; and she needed time to consider their relevance before returning to Arya.

Arya cackled and said, "What did it reveal to you?"

"It showed me what had happened to me. The power stripped from me. Then us. Spindral. And then... something new."

She took a final step forward. Yesterday there had been doubt as to what exactly she should convey. Today, she thought it simple: tell all.

"It showed me a crimson skinned girl. A bloodied dagger in her three fingered hand. She spoke to me in many voices. Mine. Yours. The old man's. She claimed my power was hers, sent back to the void. I asked her what I should do to get it back, and she spoke with a raspy voice I did not recognize, saying 'Loyalty unto death'. Then with a thousand voices she told me my power could only be found through the Dark Lord of the Sith. And asked if I will be a knife in the back of greatness, or if I will stay true."

Xyll paused. "She said staying true will get me closer than any other path. Told me that when he rises, I should answer the call and the power will be mine. And then, I asked her about the betrayal. What that would lead to."

There was another pause, before she answered.

"A true Sith empire. Is what she said, before vanishing."

She steepled ancient gnarled hands and grinned though her blind eyes did not focus on Xyll. She said, “The visions are becoming more and more… concrete. This will be a time of change for the Empire and the Sith.”

“Push me to my sanctum, Apprentice. I must show you something.”

She did as instructed, pushing the old crone's chair toward its destiny.

"There is more," she said, as she did so. "I returned to Ziost just before the Emperor did. His power darkened the skies and affected all who were there. Except for me. I felt nothing. And he saw me then. Saw it did not affect me. He beckoned for me to join him, and we talked. He named me his Witness, tasked me to record all that transpires in his court."

“Well then Witness hopefully you do not fail him. He tends to be swift with his admonishment,” she said with a cackle.

“A surprise I had not foreseen.”

Xyll ignored the cackle; there was hardly any need to be warned about the danger after all.

"What *did* you foresee?" she asked, as she wheeled Arya into the sanctum.

Arya rose from her hovering chair and her form shifted as if reality bubbled for a moment and she continued in a firm more youthful voice, “I did not foresee you becoming the Emperor’s Witness but all things with the Emperor are occluded in my sight.”

She approached a large text on a table as she ran her slim fingers over the pages and added, “Things are progressing faster than expected, apprentice.”

Xyll had not known. Yet she was not surprised either. The art of hiding one's true appearance was not unknown to her, after all. And earlier conversations with others had alluded to just this. Still, there was some appreciation for the fact that it must've taken great skill to fool the Dark Council for as long as she had.

She chuckled at the revelation.

"That is what I was thinking as well, master. What did my vision mean? Do you know? I have only guesses."

“To suss out meaning from visions is a art form. Visions are often uclear due to the imperfection of how we experience the universe. Your eyes can only see a limited range of what the world has to offer… your ears hear only a sliver of the frequencies… your skin lacks the sensitivity to feel distinct molecules… the same it is with visions,” she responded.

“The meaning is that you will have to make a decision on where you stand when a time of changes comes to pass, it revolves around the Emperor. Him naming you his Witness only further draws you closer to his fate… or destiny,” she responded.

"That much I had surmised. What I am unclear on is the choice itself. Betraying him leads to a true sith empire, she said. Whatever that means, as she called him the Dark Lord of the Sith, and betraying him a knife in the back of greatness."

“What do you feel is a true Sith Empire?” she asked.

"I..." she hesitated, which was an exceptionally rare thing for Xyll to do. "...I'm not sure."

“Is this the true Sith Empire?” she asked thoughtfully.

Xyll wasn't sure about *that* either; uncertainty that was surely visible on her face.

"This... this empire pursues peace when it should be at war... It's hidden itself for centuries when it should've joined us instead... but, I don't... know."

She gripped her forehead, slowly trying to return herself to her usual poise. "I suppose... it depends on things I don't know about. About the purpose of it all. Why hide for so long? To prepare to crush the Republic utterly? Then why stop when... triumph was so near?"

“Because winning at the sake of losing is no victory. For all his bluster and doom mongering Marr is correct, the Empire would have collapsed even if victory were achieved. If you seize a city and only have a single soldier left, that one soldier will not Hold the city,” she responded.

“Our resources were… are stretched thin. The more I learn about the Emperor’s plans more it becomes obvious that victory was never the goal, it is ritual… a ritual spanning centuries and we are now in the Endgame,” she responded confidently.

She nodded in response to the first part of what Arya was saying. It made sense of course, though that spoke more of the empire's failure than anything else. The next bit, however, was obviously far more important.

"A... ritual that spans centuries? What... manner of ritual?"

“That is what I have been trying to ascertain for some time, the Emperor is not keen to reveal his secrets,” she responded.