Kristalized Memories (D7 EE, Torsin Estate)

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain looked down from the second story of the estate to the courtyard below. Arymis and Addison ran about the garden with sticks in their hand playing 'laser swords'. The door behind him into his personal chambers opened and a large cylindrical metal case was pushed in as it floated a foot off of the ground. The servant pushing it gave a solemn nod after placing it next to Sylvain's bed.

After the servant departed Sylvain continued to watch the girls for a few more precious minutes. His breath was slow and pained. His face looked on with a dour sense of loss and foreboding. He was in no hurry to tell them what had happened to their mother this afternoon... but knew it needed to be done soon.

Before that though... he would take his moment to look upon the face of his wife. He turned to the case and opened it with a simple tap on the controls. The case opened up with a slight hissing noise at first. And then he saw it... the blows were evident through her armor. The look on her face... a look of nothingness... pressed on his eyes with terrible pressure.

He stood there for a time beyond what he knew how to calculate... The world had stopped... or rather he had while the world kept going. Eventually he lifted up a hand and brushed away the golden locks from her forehead. He was quiet as he looked on... a tear eventually escaped his eye and dried before he made any move to wipe it away.

My moon and stars are extinguished... There is only dark...

[Lord Tenebrous]

She didn't really want to be here. This wasn't how she coped with loss.

But this wasn't for her own sake. It was for Kristal's. And Sylvain's. Damnit, they hadn't even been married for a week...

Taking a deep breath, she announced her arrival at the door.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He turned briefly to glance at the door before turning back to the casket.

He sat down softly on his bed and made a nodding motion with his head to invite her in.

[Lord Tenebrous]

Somber expression, her own emotions in check for the moment as she stepped in.

There really weren't any words she could say that would work, so for a while she stood in silence, gaze drifting from Sylvain to the case.

"... I'm sorry." It felt like such cheap words for what she really felt.

[Sylvain Torsin]

He bit down on the inside of his lower lip slightly and his eyes opened up wide for only the briefest moment.

"For what?" He asked as he looked down at Kristal's lifeless face.

[Lord Tenebrous]

"..."

She breathed in deeply.

"For not being able to change the fact that she is gone. For not being able to stop it from happening. For being terrible at what to do for you in this situation."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He paused for a long moment while his head nodded ever so slightly.

"Well... for those things... I am sorry too." He tilted his head slightly to one side.

After a moment he gulped down a bit of nervous tension and heartache. He said in a voice with the most tiny semblance of a wobble, "You don't need to be here... I'm sure you have things to do..."

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Nonsense." Her voice was almost a whisper as she stepped over to Sylvain, placing her hands on his shoulders before drawing him in for a hug.

"Here is where I need to be now. For you."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"How kind..." He said with a kind of weak scoff as she came to sit by his side.

He continued to look straight down at Kristal's face; his pain and anger palpable by anyone familiar with the movements of the Force. It was a strong aura around him... growing stronger and darker with each moment.

[Dapper Dog]

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Adorned in more ceremonial robes Raven Torsin swept into the chamber, her hood low to cover her bruises and to give her an air of mystery. She was less Raven now and more who she was, had been for decades as she waited at the periphery looking at her departed daughter.

She said, “She died with a weapon in hand, I will not mourn her, that is weakness.”

[Sylvain Torsin]

He looked over to his mother as she came in and then back to his wife, "I do not mourn her... I blame her."

He then paused for a moment before adding, "I hate her. I hate her and all her damnable arrogance. And I hate myself for hating her. It is a strange feeling... to hate the one you care for so deeply. She walked the life she chose... and that is admirable. Never once wavering from her ambition. I admire her... but I hate her for her foolishness. She wasted such potential... did not heed my warnings. All for nothing... for an Empire that cannot exist."

[Dapper Dog]

“Good, nurse that hatred, it will make you stronger for yourself and for those that depend on you,” she said.

“That is all that matters now.”

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain nodded, "The girls... They are all that matters now. They will need your help mother. They must learn how to thrive. They have known me only in passing for these past few years. Now is the time for me to be their father. To raise them to be strong. Stronger than me... and stronger than her."

[Dapper Dog]

“They must be powerful, ruthless, and without mercy to be true Sith and servants of the Empire,” she said darkly.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Whoever desires constant success must change their conduct with the times. They must learn to be adaptable... not rigid. Powerful, merciless... survivors." He replied with a nod.

[Lord Tenebrous]

Shaisha watched silently as mother and som bonded over hatred. A very Sith thing to do... but she couldn't help but feel that it all tarnished Kristal's memory. Of who she was and what she stood for.

"... And here I thought you admired her qualities, her dedication and drive to do anything for the Empire." She murmured, an almost bitter smile on her face.

[Sylvain Torsin]

“I do. What better legacy for Kristal than daughters who walk their own path... and succeed where she failed?” He paused as he looked at Kristal with a forlorn affection in his eyes.

“This is progress. This is the Empire.”

[Lord Tenebrous]

She regarded Raven with some suspicion. The woman had fooled them before, and she could easily do it again. Especially with the condition Syl was in.

"Do better, like she would have wanted. Create a better Empire for them to grow up in and live their lives in." A pause. "I at least will fight for the Empire she wanted."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“I don’t know what it is you think you’re hearing... but I have no other intention. The problem is ‘better’ is a moveable target. You refrained from facing your father today and you live to pursue your ambitions. Kris did not... The results of those methodologies are evident. I will continue to fight for the girls’ future until there isn’t one to be had. You do your part with this ethereal benefactor of yours to aid you... and I will do mine with all I can manage. ‘Better’ is always what is necessary in the moment, not some moral constant.”

[Lord Tenebrous]

"Fighting him today would've been foolish." Though she did not seem to have any desire to fight hun, judging by her tone.

"Kris however didn't have much choice if she wanted to survive at all. As either a victory today or the mercy of the Council tomorrow would have been her only saving grace."