Witching Hour [Day 3, Mid Night, Open]

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

Jun-Tsu stood before the grand edifice, with its heavy, vaulting structure like a grimacing mask. In the late hour moonlight, it was a silent monolith of varying shades of blackness. She stood on the long approach, her transport waiting with a servant beyond the gates.

Zhe Dread Vord, she thought to herself with a nonplussed gaze at the facade.

Could they truly help? Could they help anyone? She continued to stare blandly, and with a languid step drew up the walk to the doors. As she raised a hand to the metal she paused and shook her head.

"Zhere iz no plaze, or text, or perzon, can teach me vhat I zeek. She vaz right, I muzt look vithin." The witch muttered to herself and let her hand fall. Vhat am I doing here?

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar had returned from Dromund Kass a short while ago, and while he would probably regret it in the morning he would spend a few more hours under the tutelage of Darth Hofu, or at least that was his intention.

Approaching the gates, he saw a hesitant supplicant and offered a bow. "The Cathedral is open to all, Lady Sith."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

The voice caused her to straighten and her hand to retract slowly back beneath her robes. She twisted her head to peer over her shoulder, the ornaments on her headdress chiming in the cool night.

"You....are a dewotee of zhe Dread Vord?" The statement was as cold with restrained judgement.

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar nodded in confirmation, pulling his cloak a little tighter around himself as a particularly chill breeze blew past.

"I have the honor of being Darth Hofu's newest student of the Word, yes. Is that why you seek the Cathedral this evening?" He asked, aware that many people came here for many different reasons.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

She ignored the question, "Zhey azzept zlawez in zhiz order?"

Turning the witch steped closer as though to more fully assess this alien. "I zuppoze I zhould be glad zhat v'one of your kind haz vizhed to zeek out zhe vizdom ov zhe Dark Zide. Ewen iv not chozen by it, great diziplez of lore hawe come vrom zhe untouched."

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar concentrates really hard on parsing the witches words, and his struggle is obvious on his face.

"Ah, no, they do not." Ilar confirmed. "They will permit the downtrodden to attend the sermons and rituals, but not to study and learn the teachings of the Dread Masters. Fortunately I recently earned my freedom, and now embark on a new path as apprentice to Lord Ausar, candidate for the Dark Council."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Apprentize? How?" The question was pointed as she took another step forward. "Vhy vould a Zith Lord take v'one zuch az you on az an apprentize?"

Her eyes narrowed unseen behind her headdress. "You pozzess no connection vith zhe dark light, yez? You hawe not velt it....heard itz vhizperz?"

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar smirked. "Sometimes the mysteries of the Force manifest in unusual places." He answers as he raises a very rudimentary protective shell against the Force around himself.

D3 MN Suppress: 2eF 1 Light Side, 1 Dark Side

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Yeeez," she elongated the word with a suspicious air. "Zo, it vould zeem. How lucky vor you zome Zith do not care about breeding. I pay it little mind meinzelf, in truzh, but...vhen done properly, und vith proper zacrivice, a vamily can be blezzed vith great pover in zhe Dark Zide."

"Of courze," she continued to stare into him, "your ilk vould not know breeding vithout your mazterz hand. Unlezz," she canted her head, "You are v'one of zhe vild v'ones, zhoze zold by your own people to uz."

[Ilar'Shala]

"I know a little, Lord Ausar is looking into why some bloodlines produce more and greater practitioners of the Force than others. She finds the research quite fascinating and believes that even the non human species of the universe can display such traits and genetic exceptions."

Ilar cocked his head to the side slightly, hoping he'd interpreted the mystic's words correctly.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Zhat, ve already know. Look to zhe Zith zpeacies, v'one vhich breedz true wizh ztartling regularity. It iz a teztament to zheir dewotion to zhe Dark Zide. But to claim a truly pure line....v'one muzt cleanze it of impuritiez, from time to time. Like pruning a tree to vorge proper grovzh. Clip zhe dead branchez, to keep zhe rezt healzhy. But zhe Empire veelz zhat iz.....old zhinking."

"Zhey beliewe in organic, unbidden breeding, az zough iv zhey zimply breed enough zhey vill produce more proper Zith. Introduze lezzer bloodlinez, to bolzter our numberz." She shook her head. "Az zough zhe vay of zhe Zith or zhe jen'jedai, vaz ewer about growving more. Ve are vewer zhan zhe jedai....but ve are more povervul."

[Ilar'Shala]

"Yes, at a base level that fact is known, but could you imagine the possibilities if she could identify and isolate the specific genome responsible?" Ilar asked. These were not his thoughts, and if Jun-Tsu pressed him for many details he wouldn't have them, but he had heard Raela talk about her work enough to be able to repeat some of it by rote.

"Instead of diluting the lines, trying to produce greater Sith by chance, if we could selectively couple individuals to cultivate that purity..."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Your miztrezz, at zhe wery leazt zeemz a voman vorth knowing. Zhough I am hezitant to zay I agree vith zome internal order to zhe Forze, I cannot deny zhat iv a vamily iz diligent, zhy can pazz on zkill vith zhe Forze az zurly az zhey can pazz along any number of ozher traitz."

"Zhat zaid, I beliewe zhe Dark Zide to be a touch more mercurial zhan v'one might beliewe. Attempt to predict it und it vill slizher from your grazp. I know, I hawe long ztudied it, long vorzhipped it, zought union vith iz...und alvayz it givez zhen takez zhen givez in itz place. It iz newer vhat you expect, nor necezzarily vhat you zeek, but it iz....poverful."

[Ilar'Shala]

"I don't doubt the work you've put into your own research," Ilar replied obsequiously.

"Perhaps between the two approaches a revelation may be discovered?"

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Yez, an intriguing idea. Veel vree to pazz zuch thoughtz on to your miztrezz. I vould not mind zhe zhought of meeting her vormally. Und zhe may bring her........apprentize az vell." The word was not wholly derisive, though it was certainly not spoken in sincerity.

"Zhe may call upon me at Lord Orethion'z eztate. He haz ovvered itz uze to uz vhile I und my zizterz ztay on Ziozt."

[Ilar'Shala]

The combination of the way Jun spoke the word apprentice and her display at the wedding reception earlier today sent a cold shiver down Ilar's back. He was sure that Jun would rather impale him with a thousand red hot pokers than allow him on her estate, but her interest in Raela's work seemed genuine enough.

"I shall see if the rigorous demands of her campaign for the Dark Council permit her the time to accept such an....honour of your invitation." He responded, in a similar tone to Jun's own.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"V'one underztandz iv her attention iz elzevhere at prezent. Azzuming zhe liwes, ve can alvayz zpeak avter zhe zeating haz been completed. Vhen zhe demandz on her time are not zo....pronounced. Zhat zaid, if zhe haz time tomorrow, ve are glad to over hozpitality to a potential vuture Councilor."

[Ilar'Shala]

"Then I believe an accommodation can certainly be reached, I will however need a name from which to extend the invitation of course." Ilar responded as he pulled his datapad out from a voluminous pocket to check the possibility of a scheduling opportunity.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Juzt tell her a warm inwitation iz extended on behalve ov Houze Farro," she smiled almost pleasantly at the twi'lek.

"Now tell me, apprentize, vhy you are here vhen you already hawe a mazter?"

[Ilar'Shala]

Ilar marked the name into the datapad and returned it to his pocket.

"Master Ausar has encouraged me to seek out new ways to interact with the Force to improve my education. The teachings of the Dread Masters was too good of an opportunity to pass up."