Ziost - Crown of the Sith Empire

The Ziost night was growing colder and darker. For many of its inhabitants, this meant staying inside in warmth and light. Unfortunately, in the Malveaux Estate, these concepts were rather relative.

Lucinia's lips twisted with annoyance. The ancient thermostat, a dial rather than a button, had been cranked so many times she was half convinced that it was about to fall off. It seemed to matter little. Her pale green eyes narrowed. At least in the parlor, with the fire burning, it was a bit warmer. Much moreso than in the hallway with all the portraits. That seemed almost unnaturally chill. And her black dress, though stylish, also kept her warm, baring only a bit of her throat. But not much.

Sighing, Lucinia checked her chrono. Doubtless her old friend would be here soon, if indeed old friend was the right word. Nothing to do but watch the dancing shadows and wait.

Dayana clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Camilla, surely you can manage my calls for this visit. Just imagine I am not even here, like it has been for so many years," she told her assistant. Of course, that was not the reality of the situation. Her return to main Imperial space has sparked many requests for her presence and so on.

It was not Camilla's place to question her master and so the order was obeyed. The Sith Lord stepped out of the speeder and approached the estate via foot. If it had not been such a long time since their last encounter, then she would have entered on much less formal terms. Instead, she waited outside, announced her presence, and waited to be admitted like a proper noble.

While Lucinia enjoyed the privileges of nobility, she did not always enjoy the trappings. Servants were always getting underfoot, and touching one's things. Indeed, her first act was to tell the butler that his services would not be necessary, and to threaten the cleaning staff. Still, there was a single man at the gate to check Dayana in, and comm ahead to Lucinia.

Dayana would not be required to wait long. The rather imposing door swung open with a creak to reveal Lucinia. Tall and slender as always, she was perhaps a touch more pale than when Dayana had seen her last, her paleness enhanced by her black dress. Of course, perhaps Dayana would not be able to tell; Lucinia always found it fascinating what she could and could not see.

"Dayana Valthren." Lucinia gave a formal half-bow, even as her lips curled up with cold amusement. "Welcome to Malveaux House, Ziost edition." She straightened, her pale green eyes glinting as she waited.

"Ziost edition," Dayana echoed with amusement in her voice. She 'looked' about the estate, the motion in her head being the pointer rather than eyes. "There is something familiar about this place, and yet it is foreign. There's a different aura here."

The redhead maintained her smile, though her true demeanor had certainly shifted. "Let us roam these halls then? Discover what is truly different?"

"Is there?" Lucinia turned, regarding the bulk of the estate through narrowed eyes. "Strange that you can feel it, when I cannot. Or perhaps not so strange."

The suggestion brought a smile to Lucinia's red lips, with a hint of honest warmth to it. "Yes, lets. In fact, I have just the place to show you. Follow me..." She turned, nodding inside, even as she held the door.

"Oh, but first, may I offer you any refreshment? A glass of wine, perhaps?"

Dayana nodded. "Wine will do. Something local, which I haven't partaken in in quite some time."

The masked Sith Lord continued her stride. Midway through, her hands rose to gesture to what surrounded them. "Do you truly not feel it? It is not unique to this place. I wonder if this estate is so different after all." She gripped her fists and stopped, maintaining her dramatic stance. "There is a sickness that pervades the air itself on this planet. I had felt the Dark Side before at the heart of the Empire and yet this is different."

She lowered her arms and tilted her chin upward along with her lips. "I assume this fascinates you."

"Something local..." Lucinia murmured thoughtfully as she made her way to the credenza, leaning down to inspect the bottles. The thoughtful frown remained even as she straightened, bottle in hand, to pour the deep red liquid into two clear crystal glasses.

She returned to Dayana, arms extended to offer the choice of either glass. "It does, in fact." Luciana said, still frowning. "It may be something that requires additional study. Is there more you could share? Visions, premonitions, anything of the sort?"

Dayana took the one closer to Lucinia, however subtle it was. She took a small sip and the briefest thought passed her mind of her own demise. "Nothing of that sort. Simply darkness, to an extent past what I encountered in the tombs on Korriban."

She traced a finger across the rim of her wine glass. "At least, that is based on my recollection."

Lucinia, too, took a tiny sip of her wine, her eyes narrowing. "Darkness. Hmmm." She said.

After a few moments, she smiled. "Come. Follow me. I want to see what sort of feeling you get from this hallway."

"So you are curious," Dayana mused as she followed along. She held her glass high as she swayed her hips through the halls. "I'm flattered, really."

She bit her lips and continued, "I figured you sensed it too. You were always more knowledgeable about the nature of the Force."

Lucinia cast a glance back over one shoulder. Her stride did not have quite the sway Dayana's had. "Curious? Always." She said, a smirk touching her red lips.

A moment of hesitation, Lucinia lowering her lashes. "Knowledgeable, perhaps. But while knowledge is a power, it is not the power." She was silent as they climbed a winding staircase. "And your ability to feel through the Force exceeds mine, I'm not ashamed to admit."

They reached the top of the staircase, the archway opening out onto a long hallway. Even dimmer than the others, most of the light seemed to come from a series of holoportraits along the walls. The portraits showed a series of men and women, most of them very old, and every single one frowning sternly. Impassively.

Lucinia turned to Dayana, one eyebrow raised, her lips curling up. "What do you think of this?" A chill wind seemed to blow down the long hallway.

"Your curiosity is what fuels your knowledge," Dayana mused. She stopped at the top of the staircase before continuing, taking a sip of wine. "Do not discount your own vision. I imagine you can appreciate the art far better than I ever could."

The masked Sith started her approach through the halls, not turning to face any of the portraits directly. Her steps were slow and deliberate as she soaked in everything around her. "History, yes. A family, your family. Even if the stones were to crumble, that essence would not leave. It would take far greater than physical means to change that."

She shook her head, the perverse nature of the Dark Side crippling her psyche. "Yes, but the Dark Side is so strong here. It is here," she murmured, the sickness going so far as to churn her stomach. It was for this reason she had so often closed her abilities to see more in the Force. "It is here," she repeated, maintaining just enough composure as to not spill her glass.

Lucinia couldn't help but preen at the praise, just a little.

Together they walked between the rows of portraits. Besides being so stern, there was something just a little bit off about them. Eyes just a little unfocused, glassy. Facial muscles either too slack or too tight. Lucinia found herself shivering, wrapping her slender arms around her torso.

While she'd expected some sort of reaction from her perceptive friend, she hadn't expected this. Lucinia's green eyes widened. "Dayana? What's wrong? What's happening?" After a moment of hesitation, she reached out, gently squeezing Dayana's arm. "Are you alright?"

Dayana 'met' the other woman's gaze. What bothered her most was the fact that she had shown any weakness at all. "Of course I am," she murmured before straightening out her posture, "I was careless."

She retracted her arm as gently as she could. Her face began to directly address the faces on the wall. There was a certain dread to each and every one of them, though Dayana would never vocalize such an opinion. "There are so many theories regarding the Dark Side. Some call it the other half of one whole, balancing out the Light Side of the Force. Others label it as perversion, and that only a Force composed only of the Light would be considered in balance."

Nodding, Lucinia withdrew her hand. The polite thing to do, of course, would be to let it go. Well, so she would, even if she would remember it.

"Hmmm." She turned to face the same image as Dayana. The eyes both seemed to follow her and look right through her. The dead eyes. "And what is your opinion? If you share yours, I will share mine."

"Does it matter?" Dayana responded immediately. She smiled, for it was not that she was unwilling to answer the question. Rather, she found that to be the real matter to discuss. "Would it change our actions if one of these philosophies was true?"

Scholarly Lucinia frowned thoughtfully. "An interesting question. In the short term, no. In the long term, probably not." She waved her free hand vaguely. "Except for the focus on prolonging life and the occasional grand scheme, the Dark Side does not favor long term solutions."

Still frowning, Lucinia took a sip of her wine. "But either way, it would remain the source of our strength. The power above all others. I have delved deep into it, but I shall delve deeper still."

"There is also the question of what the importance of 'balance' is for us," Dayana mentioned before taking a sip of wine herself. She gestured vaguely to the effigies of the deceased. "I doubt it mattered to them. Look at what their usage of the Dark Side has accomplished for your House."

"Balance? Not at all." Lucinia sniffed dismissively. "It is a word for someone who is overcautious. Afraid." Her lips curled up. "I do enjoy hearing my views reflected in the words of another." Raising her glass, she gently clinked it against Dayana's before taking another slow sip.

Lucinia was silent for a moment, regarding the holoportraits. "It has accomplished much." She said, her alto voice scarcely above a whisper. "But their accomplishment matter to me only in that accumulated generational power makes my own acquisitions easier."

Her lips quirked, and she gave Dayana a sidelong glance. "It did not matter to them even at the time these were made. It is a curious Malveaux custom to pose its members shortly after death as they were in life for one last image. These are the result of that custom. I've often wondered at the significance of it."

Reflected but perhaps not entirely. Dayana sipped her glass regardless. It was only polite to.

The redhead began to giggle, her 'vision' darting to all of the numerous faces. There had to be disappointment in their ghastly nature. "Where is your familial pride? That being said, you aren't alone in feeling that way about inherited privilege and power.

"As for these pieces, we Sith often look to be immortalized, yes? Is that not the case here?"