[D2, EN - Ausar Estate] The End of an Era

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar had left the party early, after a day that had him questioning much, it ended up being the straw that broke the bantha's back. Those insipid children pushing him out of the way, the doors to power that were closed to him, the inability to achieve what he felt destined for.

He had never felt this way until he had come into Raela's service, under Darth Acklys he was subjugated and knew his place, under his new Master however, Ilar had come to feel that most dangerous of emotion for a slave...hope.

And so he sat in the waiting room and helped it fulfill its function, he waited.

[Raela Ausar]

Raela soon appeared, still very put together after the evening. She had slipped out as soon as was politely possible, such engagements weren't really her sort of thing, more a necessary evil.

She was somewhat surprised to see Ilar'shala in the waiting room, though. As with all the most important room, it featured a large window on one wall, highlighting the violently blowing snow and darkness. It was a fitting picture for the mood that seemed to fill the room.

She paused and then sat down near Ilar, leaning back. "You seem perturbed."

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar heard Raela arrive and when she moved towards him, herose out of his chair at her approach and wandered over to the window. Watching the wind outside whip the snow into a frenzy and with his back to Raela, he couldn't face her right now, he just nodded.

"I can't do this any more." He said softly.

[Raela Ausar]

She watched his back carefully, feeling negative emotions rise, but keeping a lid on them for now. "Explain..."

[Ilar'Shala]

His shoulders were slumped, his head was bowed, it seemed he had the weight of the world upon him, and to Ilar's thoughts, he did.

"In all the time I served Darth Acklys, I had nothing, I was nothing, and it was all I knew. Then after you took over his reign, over time, things changed. I can't pinpoint when but at some point I stopped thinking of myself as a slave."

Ilar slowly reached up one hand and began tracing meaningless patterns on the glass of the window.

[Raela Ausar]

She watched him carefully, and a small sense of pride rose up instead, replacing the negative "Well, of course you did. But please go on."

[Ilar'Shala]

"Back home it was easy to forget that I belonged to you as much as that lounge." He continued to pour his heart out, letting his emotions bare.

"But here, I'm constantly reminded of how much less I am, less than what I deserve, less than would I should be, less than what I know I am, less than what you deserve." His teeth grind as he spits it out. "By people who are less than the real me."

[Raela Ausar]

She nodded as he spoke, listening. "No. Not how much less you are. How much less they believe you are."

[Ilar'Shala]

"I'm sure some wise man said something about the importance of perception." Ilar somberly replied, even as a weary smile crossed his face at the distinction Raela made, his heart buoyed slightly by the fact that she would make that separation.

"The day you took over rulership from Darth Acklys, you killed the man I was; the broken wretched shell that housed my spirit. Now I need to ask you for a favour, I need you to kill me again."

[Raela Ausar]

"What do you mean?" She asked, watching him carefully.

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar let out a small sigh and turned around to look at Raela. "I want to serve you, I want to still call you Master." He explained as he looked up at the taller Sith.

"But I don't want to do it because society says I have to, not as a slave. I want to serve you because I choose to, as a student."

He drops to a single knee before Raela and lowers his head slightly. "So I ask you to choose, either set me free from slavery, or kill me for my impertinence and set me free from life."

[Raela Ausar]

She stood stepping forward to him. Her hand comes down and touches the top of his head.

"I'm proud of you, Ilar'shala. I have been waiting to hear you say that. I will set you free. But your chains are not yet truly broken. Eventually you will have to free yourself from even me, with your own power."

She smiled a little. "You are being reborn. I think it's time to free yourself from the name of a slave, don't you?"

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar'Shala's heart swelled and he looked up at his master with gratitude. "I must walk in this new world, before I run Raela." He answers when she talks about breaking free of her. It was the first time he had used her personal name in conversation with her and it felt at the same time both very wrong and very right.

"I will consider what form my new name should take, but I imagine it will not be a quick decision." He thinks about rising, but his legs are a little too shaky from the momentous nature of the last few minutes.

[Raela Ausar]

"Yes," she agreed, nodding. "Things will be difficult from now on. They were before, but now it will be in a different way. I will be pushing you to your limit. You will eventually have to temporarily go to the academy once we're done here, but it won't be long. You already know the code, and you have gotten something of a head start on training."

She smiled and reached out a hand to him. "Come, Apprentice, we still have much to discuss."

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar listened intently and took Raela's hand in his when she offered it. "I will not disappoint you Lord Ausar, and when it comes time to attend the Academy, I think I'll have a few surprises in store."

"Now what else is on the table for discussion?"

[Raela Ausar]

She smirked. "The other students will mark you for being a twi'lek. I expect you to show them the error of their ways when the time comes."

She went to settle into her chair, draping a blanket over herself and lowering the lights a little to let them enjoy the snow outside all the poor. "Please join me," she said, gesturing to the other chair. "I chose to agree to Lord Abasi's proposal of a temporary alliance. We will not interfere with the other and do our best to ensure the other doesn't die as a result of this test."

[Ilar'Shala]

She smirked. "The other students will mark you for being a twi'lek. I expect you to show them the error of their ways when the time comes."

"They will learn the folly of underestimating a child of Ryloth, perhaps I might speak further with Lord Bellious about what to expect on such a front?"

She went to settle into her chair, draping a blanket over herself and lowering the lights a little to let them enjoy the snow outside all the poor. "Please join me," she said, gesturing to the other chair. "I chose to agree to Lord Abasi's proposal of a temporary alliance. We will not interfere with the other and do our best to ensure the other doesn't die as a result of this test."

Ilar climbed into his own chair, tucking his feet under himself in his standard position as he listened to Raela's explanation. "It seems a very inoffensive alliance, minimizing risk to each party. Is this proposal likely to be made to many of your competitors?"

[Raela Ausar]

"We'll see. It will be noticeable if it is," she said with certainty. "Earlier, Zash said we would be discovering and perfecting the truth of the Emperor's immortality, and thereby become undying Sith ourselves. But remembering what you observed, that may truly not be a good idea."

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar could not suppress a shiver at mention of the Emperor and his immortality. "I don't think that's a great idea, although neither is saying no to Zash. At his arrival yesterday, I could see all this threads linking everyone to the Emperor, pulsing with red energy. I don't know how he's doing it, but I suspect that we're all unwittingly fuelling his existence."

For one of the few times in their association, Raela notices real fear in Ilar.

[Raela Ausar]

She pressed her lips together and nodded. "It could be useful regardless... We may find a weakness."