Chapter 44: Beware
The Sith, like many other civilized cultures, did have one rule. A rule that most considered…inviolable.
A guest should NOT endeavor to murder his host, for any reason.
Avaryss tried to keep that in mind as Phylon showed her and Zay to his library. The room in which the singing of the key could be heard…the most clearly.
The dark lord frowned.
Phylon seemed in no hurry to help them. In fact, the old bloat seemed to be intentionally slowing down, not even daring to accelerate their search.
Avaryss clenched her fists in frustration, but…so far, remembered her social graces.
Though it was true that the Sith used the dark side to rise above any limits in so-called civilization, some niceties needed to be maintained, for the sake of holding the empire together, of course.
Zay stood at her side; the young girl was a ball of barely contained nerves. She had been the first to hear the key's call, had been hearing it since they had first stepped over Phylon's threshold.
The dark lord should not have been surprised.
The first key they had found had awakened Zay's Force abilities. It had frozen, or burned away any constraint the girl had placed upon herself. Now, she was likely part of the song of the keys, just as they were part of her.
Avaryss took that as a good sign. Using them in concert with Zay's awakened mind abilities would be even easier. If she was as strong as Avaryss believed, everything was finally falling into place.
The dark lord could not ask for more, well…
…maybe Phylon hurrying the kriff up…
…that would be nice.
She looked at the Force Master with disdain.
Could he really not see what was as stake?
The fate of the entire galaxy hung in the balance.
Be calm, she thought to herself, breathing out slowly and counting to ten.
Be calm.
Upon first hearing the key's welcome tones, it had taken all of her self-control not to murder Phylon, his guards, and then tear this place apart, searching for her prize.
Had she been alone, she might have attempted just that, but Zay was with her.
She had to set a good impression for her student, one day, Zay would likely live in the empire, perhaps even rule over it as a regent, until one of Avaryss' children came of age, of course.
She welcomed those thoughts, after several weeks of wondering if she was undone, being in the presence of the third key, knowing it was in reach brought back all her desires, and dreams of power.
I was not mistaken, she thought, the mere idea filling her with dark pride.
Everything I've done has been correct.
Now she just had to keep herself focused on the prize.
"It is in here, master," Zay said at her side, her head snapping back and forth like a Tukata on the hunt.
"It will be found, my dear," she said in a soothing voice.
"WE will find it."
Zay nodded, trying to hold her own impatience in check.
Phylon, meanwhile, seemed content to idly search through his many manuscripts and books. Idly running his fingers over the spines of latter. He paused briefly at a display case, holding several old yellow scrolls. Avaryss couldn't read them from here, but she recognized the sloping writing of old Sith text.
The old pureblood sighed, and shook his head.
"What exactly is it that you think is in here, Avaryss?"
He turned to face her, his large arms resting over his belly.
"What is it that you hope to find? What is your purpose?"
"The safety and security of the empire, Phylon. What else could I be interested in."
"You are still evading the question," he reminded her.
Avaryss shrugged.
Why not give the old pureblood a taste of what she wanted. He likely could feel the key's presence as well, though, he didn't have the context to understand exactly what he had lucked into.
"There is something in your collection," she informed him, "Something of great value to my plans, likely hidden from the untrained eye. You probably never even realized just what it was."
He nodded.
"Yes, I…I can sense something."
She smirked.
"I need it, Phylon. Please name your price."
The old pure blood snorted at that.
"What am I now, a street vendor on some outer rim market world? I am of the old blood, Avaryss. You cannot simply buy me like some mercenary or bounty hunter.
Avaryss nodded.
"My apologies, master. I didn't mean to offend."
She began to pace the room, looking at the wellspring of knowledge around her. Unlike the rest of the house, this was more to her liking.
She could have spent hours in here, indulging her every curiosity about the dark side. Who knew how many secrets were here, just gathering dust as status symbols, she had to wonder exactly how many of these tomes the old man had read, if he understood what was inside of them.
Again, she felt the urge to simply kill him, and take this house for herself. The guards wouldn't be a problem, not if she struck fast before Phylon had a chance to defend himself, but…no…no, no, no.
Phylon, despite his arrogance, could be useful to her plans. She needed like-minded individuals on her side, those that understood the value of wisdom and knowledge.
He would do, if he would but only submit to her will.
She tried to be more tactful, given their history, if nothing else.
"All I can say is that this item I seek will bring great power to those that possess it, but it exists as a part of a set. On its own, it doesn't mean much, but if found and reunited with its other pieces. The whole landscape of the galaxy will change.
"Hm," her old teacher said scratching his chin.
I already have two, once the third one is mine. I will cast a spell that will call out to the remaining two. They will tell me where they are, and once they are in my hands…"
Phylon nodded, clearly, he could guess what would happen then.
"And you are certain this isn't another flight of fancy. Many young lords that taste power get it into their heads that they possess some grand destiny. They start thinking they are capable of rising higher than they are truly capable."
He chuckled.
"Every young Sith I've ever known gets it into their head that they might be the Sith'ari. I would hate to see you drawn down that path, young one. You have done so well for yourself up until now."
Avaryss scowled at him.
"I do not seek some mystical title, Phylon. I don't believe in the Sith'ari, and have never claimed to be the perfect Sith. What I am…is ambitious, and that drives me to accel. My plan is the careful work of many Sith, allied together to bring about a grand vision that is almost fifty years old now. I've done the research, and I believe the time is right. I would have preferred a more cautious pace, but the Zakuul arrival has forced my hand. We must act now while we still have the strength to oppose the invaders. We must use every weapon in our arsenal, and this…what I have found. Will make even our most basic weapons far more dangerous. All that I require now, is the tools to complete my conquest, and for those that aid me, the rewards…will be as numerous as they are great."
Phylon chuckled.
"How great?"
Avaryss smirked.
"Use your imagination."
"Oh, don't say that, child. I can imagine quite a bit."
"Good for you," she said dryly, "If you must dream, then…dream big. You wish your place on Korriban restored. Done. You wish a seat on the reconstituted Dark Council; it will be yours…"
"What about the throne? As long as we are dreaming big here."
"Some seats are reserved for one, I'm afraid," she purred, "Though, you don't have to sit on the throne to reap the best rewards the empire has to offer."
She walked over to one of the book shelves that lined the walls, sighing, warming herself from the heat of so much dark side wisdom.
"A Sith ruler, does not stand alone. A ruler needs hands, a voice, and a wrath to enforce the will of the empire. Many positions will be opening soon, Phylon. Why not put yourself forward early. Why wait for the competition to gather."
"You don't have that kind of authority," he reminded her.
"You will be surprised what I will be able to do…soon."
She gave him an evil smile.
"I should have been empress, you know. After Feer died, after I seized his holdings. The food and medical supply of our great empire, they were all mine to command. I made many polite suggestions to Darth Marr, and Darth Nox, I even spoke with the Empire's Wrath.
I was a hero to our people. Who better to be named ruler, as a figurehead, of course. The Council could continue to do its grand work, and I would be the face of the reforming empire."
Phylon sneered at that.
"Figureheads have a way of becoming actual rulers if the ones that rule are not careful," he reminded her.
"Only the ones with the ambition and skill to make such a jump happen."
Again he nodded, and motioned for her to continue.
"When I finally began to succumb to…well…a health issue. I used my knowledge of the dark side to save my life. I claimed a new life, a life that was being wasted by its original owner."
She chuckled.
"You know, it is a bit of a shame. This body was not the one that I originally desired. There was a pretty blonde noble that I had my eye on. A ruler of a rich and bountiful world. I would have been a lord and a queen both. Alas, my loyal HK droid could not bring me the prize I sought, and I ran out of time. I had to settle for this form.
She sighed.
"I SHOULD have been empress. Who better than me, Phylon? WHO BETTER? I conquered death, mastered the secrets of the ancients, and still…they looked down on me, my fellow councilors. Where is the fairness in that, I ask you? None of them fought and killed Terrog. None of them found a way to survive his final gift, seizing a new body when no one among the Jedi even suspected. Is that not cunning enough? Is that not ruthless enough to prove that the crown belongs to me?
She took off the silken choker, the glamour dropped away, her face reverted to that of the girl that had been such an annoyance to Avaryss during the early days of the war.
She smirked at Phylon.
"One day, this face, this voice will be known as the mother of a reborn Sith Empire. I stand before you now, with no mask, no disguise. I stand before you, and ask for your allegiance. The Sith throne is my destiny, the fact that the item I seek is here, is ample proof of that. The dark side has chosen me, Phylon. I am its sword, and the voice of its will."
"You will be a god, master!" Zay cheered, clapping for her teacher.
Avaryss shook her head.
"Gods are formless beings that have lost touch with what it means to be alive, apprentice. I intend to be a guide to our people, to bring a new era to them. I will show the unwashed masses that it is best that they exist as my thralls, and once the Zakuul have been exterminated, not conquered, but wiped out to the last child. Vitiate will be finished. He will have nowhere to hide, and the galaxy will bow to me. They will debase themselves before me, in humble gratitude, their savior and liberator."
Avaryss shivered with excitement.
"And then…once everyone sees the glory and wonder that is me. I shall claim my cut of anything I desire. It will be…beautiful."
Zay beamed happily.
"And I will be at your side."
Avaryss nodded.
The girl squealed with delight!
The Dark lord of the Sith turned to, Phylon.
"You can have a place in this as well, Force Master. The galaxy is calling, and its many rewards awaiting our hands, waiting to be plucked."
Phylon looked down at his hands, he brushed away a bit of lint from his crimson robe.
He smiled.
"Yes, I can see it all now, child. It is all so clear."
Avaryss grinned triumphantly.
"You, dear Avaryss, are completely, and utterly, out of your mind."
Zay glared at him.
"How dare you speak to her like that! She…"
Avaryss stopped her again with a raised hand.
"The line between genius and madness is a fine one," she reminded him.
She wasn't even insulted.
Mad?
She knew she was mad.
She had been driven to insanity long ago.
How else had she survived the Sith training?
Still the pureblood had not answered her offer.
"That didn't sound like a no, Phylon."
"It wasn't," admitted with a cruel smirk.
He turned to Zay.
"You need to understand, young lady. Darth Vitiate was quite mad, as well. And…as a wise Sith once said, what is a little mental instability between a lord and his underlings.
Avaryss cackled.
"I think you are misquoting…Jorek Uln? Darth Revan's Force Master, if I remember correctly."
"You were always a talented student, Avaryss."
He shook his head.
"Your offer intrigues me, young one. I will find that manuscripts you need to train your apprentice, and now…you may search my collection. If this item you seek is here, we will discuss your plan. If it sounds good, I will support you."
"Fine," Avaryss said.
"Excellent," Phylon said clasping his hands, "Now, to work! I will get those manuscripts. As for the two of you, search to your heart's content."
Avaryss nodded in thanks, and turned to Zay.
"Can you find it for me, Zay? Can you find the key?"
She nodded hungrily, and moved quickly to the book cases, her hands drifting over the spines, humming to herself.
Avaryss watched, through the Force, she could sense Zay's tendrils, the expression of her dark side ability questing out, searching through Phylon's collection.
It won't be long now, she thought.
She watched as the pure blood and the young girl moved along the wall. She considered helping Zay, but decided against it.
Phylon needed to see her a leader, not just another of the rabble, she would stand patiently, and await her servants. They would find what she sought she was sure of it.
Unsurprising, the old pureblood found what he was looking for first, he returned to he with three leather bound manuscripts. Avaryss inspected each one, flipping through the pages, and reading the titles. The first one was simply titled: Battle Meditations, no author, exactly what she was looking for, of course. Yet, the second one caught her eye.
The Alteration of the mind: Reshaping the wills and minds of your lessers.
She didn't recognize the name of the author, but it did set off a bell in the back of her mind.
Beric.
She pursed her lips, deep in thought.
If Zay could master such techniques, perhaps it would be possible to restore her brother's mind and will, turn back the clock as it were. Give him back to her.
Is that truly what you desire, Feer's voice rumbled through her thoughts.
Beric betrayed you. He shot you in the stomach, more than once. He came to me and called you a traitor, and now…now…after you punished him, left him on the verge of death. You want to try and save him?
She frowned; she could not deny that things would be…tense between them. She had used him as a lab animal after his betrayal, punished him severely for what he had done.
But…surely, he would understand. If Zay could restore his mind, undo what Darth Sadi had done to him. He would be a great asset, and not simply just as a proxy enemy she would have destroyed at her leisure, after he had sold the deception of being one to the Survivors.
She smiled slightly.
She would speak with Zay, after the girl studied the journal.
She wouldn't get her hopes up, but…
…maybe…
…perhaps.
Zay continued her hunt the girl had stepped back from the bookshelves now, inspecting the collection as a whole, singing low, her tendrils of the Force curling and stretching out.
"Find it, girl," Avaryss said, "Find it, now!"
"I'm trying, master."
"Do not try. DO! There is no such thing as trying."
The girl nodded she began to sing louder, trying to match the tone of the hidden key.
Phylon came up beside Avaryss.
"Maybe it isn't here," he suggested.
"It is here," Avaryss said, coming up behind her apprentice.
"Do not waver, Zay. You stand in the middle of a treasure trove of Sith knowledge. For a dark lord, power is everything, and knowledge is power. Rooms such as these are our temples, or should be. This is what we worship, if the key is anywhere, it will be here!"
Zay nodded; her brow furrowed. She closed her eyes and raised her hands.
Again, her master could see her breath, sweat began to trickle down her brow.
She took a step towards the wall to her right, then another, and…another.
She stopped before one of the book shelves, the second from the one closest to the wall.
"IT IS HERE, MASTER!" the girl crowed.
"I FOUND IT!"
Zay pulled her lightsaber from her belt and ignited it. She twirled it in preparation to slice through the shelf and into the wall.
"HOLD, CHILD!"
Phylon stepped in close, just out of reach of the blade, but enough to stop her from completing her swing.
Those shelves are made of imported greel wood, very valuable."
He smiled as he leaned forward, he reached beneath a shelf two down from the one that Zay was about to destroy. Avaryss heard a clicking sound.
A switch or a button, she realized.
The shelf next to Zay swung open like a door, revealing another room.
Avaryss shivered, the amount of dark side energy in this place was…intoxicating.
The three of them slipped inside.
This room was half as large as the library, but filled with display cases, and in each sat one or two dark side items. Rings and bracelets, amulets and helms, treasures imbued with dark side power.
Avaryss shivered.
She had never felt anything like this.
It was making her dizzy.
Zay seemed unaffected; the girl went from case to case. Finally, stopping in front of one of the largest. Her green eyes wide and hungry.
She turned to her master, a cruel smile on her face.
"It is in here, my lord. I'm certain of it."
The dark lord stepped forward. What she saw put a smile on her face.
She recognized this case, and its contents.
She had first seen it almost ten years ago, or rather, Keera Lylos had seen it. It had been in Phylon's quarters on Fury 9.
Her eyes fell on one item out of all others. The Sith holocron that she had been drawn to back then.
Yet, experience had changed her understanding of what she was seeing.
She felt the dark side, but…the item didn't feel like a holocron. She had studied several over the last decade, made one of her own, in fact.
As she looked at the item, it was…different from other holocrons, it was larger, almost two times bigger than any holocron she had ever seen. The symbols seemed more intricate.
She glanced at Phylon.
Where did you find this, master? I remember seeing it during my student years."
"Oh, that old thing, one of the hopefuls back on Fury 9 discovered it in one of the abandoned tunnels in the mountain. The poor boy could not figure out how to access it, so he brought it to me."
Phylon shrugged.
"I've never been able to get it to work. The gatekeeper will not respond. It is locked, I think, perhaps it requires some code phrase or mental command. I've been researching it for years, seeking to understand it, but so far…nothing."
Avaryss smiled.
On Fury 9, why was she not surprised.
In his youth, Darth Hecaetus had been on Fury 9. He had attended the academy, and even come back for a time as an overseer. He had been the blade master to her blade master, Overseer Adaz.
Locked, Avaryss thought, we will see about that.
It was ironic that she lusted after this object all those years ago, never imagining she would see it again.
The Force it seemed, had an odd sense of humor.
She sent the signal that had she had found in the data crystal that Zay's original owner had found for her. The signal that had awakened the other keys.
The holocron, glowed weakly, or rather, the key inside the holocron glowed.
Avaryss laughed.
Not a holocron at all, but a reliquary.
The old man had hidden one of his greatest treasures in plain sight.
The keystone on the top of the pyramid twisted, and fell off, the crystal sides of the pyramid turned to dust, falling away to reveal what was within.
Avaryss giggled.
The key flared with dark side power, it called to her, asking to be picked up. To be taken to be with its fellows.
Zay came up beside her, the girl's eyes wide with wonder.
"Master Phylon," she said, "Please open this case. Phylon?"
Surrounded by so many dark side objects she had missed the sense of growing menace in the room. The gathering of power.
She barely had time to raise her shields, defend herself.
The spell hit her like a blaster bolt.
She cried out as her mind caught fire, it…it felt like dozens of burning embers had been poured onto her brain.
Zay cried out in surprise.
Avaryss whirled with a snarl!
BETRAYAL!
She went for her lightsaber, only to find it gone.
She looked at Phylon. He held her weapon before him, waving it like a toy, a cunning smirk on his chubby face.
She hissed and raised her hands.
"Oh I wouldn't do that, my student," he advised, "Lightning in this small space, surrounded by so many wonderous objects. You could cause an explosion, you would kill me, sure, but you and the girl would die as well."
She glared at him, that smug expression, that condescending look.
It was the same look she had seen during her meetings as a member of the dark council.
So much for our mutual history, she thought.
Damn it!
I should have killed the arrogant bloat while I had the chance.
The pain finally got the best of her, she fell to her knees, hardly able to move.
Phylon snapped his fingers, his four acolytes entered the chamber. Zay lay groaning at her master's feet. Two of them picked her up almost dragged her out of the room.
The other two seized Avaryss. They dragged her out as well, out of the library and back into the main hall. Phylon followed a respectful distance away.
The acolytes threw her down on the cold stone. She breathed deeply, trying to focus her mind, clear it.
She glared up at her former teacher.
He chuckled.
"Poor, poor Keera," he said shaking his head, "You underestimated me. You forgot the lesson that Adaz and I taught you during your trial of blood."
He shook his head.
"Beware your master, surely you remembered that."
She struggled to her feet, shaking off the spell he had cast. It hurt, but it was far from crippling.
She had endured worse during her training.
"I'm going to kill you!" she spat.
"You will try," he said inspecting his nails.
Zay groaned, and shook her head. She looked around shocked to see the four acolytes standing around her, their lightsabers lit and humming.
"Ma…master? Wha…whut is this?"
"Betrayal, apprentice," Avaryss hissed.
"Betrayal most foul."
"Oh puh-leaze, Avaryss," Phylon said, "What did you think was going to happen here. You reveal yourself to me, and show me an item of great power in my collection, and not just that…"
His eyes blazed with greed and hunger.
"You also revealed that you have two more of these items, and that the last can be sought using the other three."
He nodded thoughtfully, patting his large belly.
"Me turning you in to the dark council, you and you alone, would have been a mistake. I would be executed on the spot, but…you, the girl, and these wonderous toys."
He cackled.
"I think my exile on Sri-Luur is at an end. Thank you, my dear."
Avaryss glared at him. The bloated fool! Did he think she would let him get away with this.
He was a teacher, not a warrior! She had been honed in battle after battle, he and his students could not stop her.
"You won't live long enough to profit from this. I'm stronger than you!"
"It is six against one, Avaryss. I like those odds."
Avaryss sneered.
The old man couldn't count. Him and his four students didn't make six, and she had…
Avaryss blinked.
Zay?
Phylon went over to the girl. He lifted her to her feet.
"Are you okay, child?"
Zay looked at him suspiciously, rubbing her head.
"I'm okay. I…what is going on?"
"What is going on, is that you are finally free of this madwoman's desires. This would-be master of yours is no true master at all."
"Zay," Avaryss cautioned. She would have attacked Phylon, but her head was still swimmy.
She doubted she could levitate a tea cup right now, much less fire a bolt of lightning.
"Don't."
"Child, Zay was it. You wish to be Sith, yes?" Phylon asked her.
Zay nodded.
"You desire to unlock your full potential. To stand among the greatest of our empire."
Again, a nod.
Phylon smirked.
"I can help you achieve that goal. I know people on Dromund Kaas. They will be very eager to meet someone with your potential. They understand your gifts and can teach you everything you could ever wish to know about the powers of the mind, and how to use the power of battle meditation."
Zay blinked, she chewed her lower lip, her brow furrowed in thought.
No, Avaryss thought.
NO!
"What about, Master Avaryss?" she asked.
Phylon snorted.
"Avaryss is no Sith Master child. She is an outlaw, and an outcast. She murdered her first lover during her days on Korriban, and then killed her master after blaming him for her own shortcomings, for failing to deal with his more ambitious underlings."
Zay blinked likely not understanding everything the pureblood was saying, but she was listening.
Damn it!
"She has no idea how to train you, child. Such knowledge is beyond her, but my allies can. They know more about your powers than even you could guess. Come with me, to Dromund Kaas, and I will make you more powerful than this failure could ever hope to be."
"He is lying to you, Zay!"
He glared down at Avaryss, much as he had the day she had first arrived as a hopeful on Fury 9.
Like she was nothing, worthless.
He sneered.
"You asked why the council didn't make you empress? Allow me to enlighten you. You are not worthy of the throne, girl. You are nothing but fringe trash. Powerful yes, in a thuggish type of way, and like any other common thug, not worthy of leadership. You proved that when you lost the battle of Pholus."
"I was betrayed. Acina canceled my reinforcements, we would have drowned the Zakuul army, shattered the ice sheet they were standing on. We would have sank them into the sub-zero waters of Pholus. They would have frozen to death in seconds. The battle would have been won. Who cares about the eternal fleet in orbit, their ground army would have been dead, the twin conquerors would have died, but Acina didn't stick to the plan. She held my reinforcements back, and my men were cut to pieces."
"Excuses, excuses," Phylon said.
He shook his head.
"You should have seen that betrayal coming, you should have killed me as soon as you realized the item you sought was here, but then again, what else could I expect from a peasant like you. You were always unworthy of lordship.
She hissed.
Peasant, the word was like venom on her tongue.
Phylon put a hand on Zay's slender shoulder.
"You deserve better than this, child. Better than this failure as a master."
Avaryss took a deep breath, her rage finally burning away the last of Phylon's spell.
As powerful as she was, she could still be overwhelmed by superior numbers. Two of Phylon's students had moved behind her. It only took one to stab her in the back.
She looked again at Zay. Phylon continued to weave his web around the girl.
She needed to break that up, now.
"HE WILL ENSLAVE YOU AGAIN!
Zay blinked and looked at her.
"He doesn't care about people like us, Zay. We are common trash to him, and to those elitist fools on Dromund Kaas. They will use your power, and toss you away when they have no further use for it. Only through me will you find the freedom you seek. Only I am willing to offer you that freedom. You can have what you want. Everything you want! Even Temm!"
"Temm," Zay murmured.
Phylon hadn't heard her. He blasted Avaryss with Force lightning flinging her back. His students added to her pain, hitting her with lightning as well.
Avaryss snarled, and tried to rise, but her muscles wouldn't listen, they were shorted out by the blast from Phylon's hands.
"You don't know how to find the other keys," Zay informed Phylon, "Our allies have them."
"Allies that will let you get close to them, my child," Phylon said, "We will capture the command crew of the ship you arrived on. They will tell us what we need to know, after some…alternative persuasion."
Phylon grinned.
"We will find them and seize the keys. You will be a hero on Dromund Kaas, for bringing Avaryss here, to justice. Your rewards will be great."
Zay continued to worry her lip with her teeth. She was considering what he was offering her.
Avaryss took a deep breath calling on the power of the dark side letting it fill her with energy.
Gilly and Captain Valenthyne were in trouble. They may have been pubs, but they had fought at her side, deserved her respect.
"Zay," she called out, "Don't do this!"
The girl looked at her, with tears in her eyes.
"Sorry, master."
She bowed her head and knelt before Phylon.
The pure blood laughed.
"Let us end this," he crowed, He turned to his four guards.
"Deal with this would-be Sith'ari, my friends. Then…young Zay and I will…will…will…
Avaryss looked up, unsure of what was going on.
Phylon was standing there, giving orders, or trying to. His guards were advancing, but in what seemed to be in slow motion, and Zay…
The dark lord smiled.
Zay was on her knees, her voice risen in song.
She didn't have the power to freeze them, these Sith, but she could slow their perceptions, and that was enough.
It gave her master time.
Avaryss made the best of it.
She raised her hand, taking her lightsaber back from Phylon's belt, pulling it to her through the Force. He turned slowly, his eyes widening. Realizing what was happening.
Too late.
Avaryss lit her blade and lunged forward.
She decapitated two of Phylon's students with a single swipe of her saber.
Time sped back up.
"NOOO!" Phylon shrieked.
He blasted Avaryss with lightning, but she caught it with her blade.
One of his guards tried to attack her, but she easily deflected his coming attack, and struck back with such force that the boy's own lightsaber went through his shoulder as his wrist broke trying to ward off her blow.
The last of the guards tried a Force push, but again, the dark lord's shield held.
The boy tried to back pedal only to be stabbed in the back.
Zay drove her blade up to the hilt into him. He gasped in surprise as his heart was incinerated, and fell forward.
Before the girl could do anything else, Phylon gestured in her direction.
Zay screamed and fell back, holding her head.
"No," Avaryss shouted as she leaped to the girl's defense.
Phylon drew his lightsaber.
The two Sith Master's clashed.
Ther blades locked,
Avaryss glared into his gold eyes.
"I'm going to cleave you in two!"
"You won't get the chance, girl!"
Phylon seemed to flow around her, he moved surprisingly fast for someone of his girth.
The two Sith dueled back and forth through the great hall. Phylon stood rail straight, with one hand behind his back. His knowledge of Makashi surprised Avaryss, but did not throw her off her game.
She dropped into Soresu, playing defense. Drawing her enemy towards exhaustion and defeat.
Zay lay on the ground, wailing in despair. Shouting for her mother! Begging for her to save her, to not let the slavers take her away.
Avaryss had no time to help, to free the girl from the spell. Phylon spun away from her again. this time gesturing with his hand. Calling upon another spell.
He was not the only one.
Soresu's main advantage was that it allowed her to conserve energy, and time. Time enough to cast her own spells.
The Force Master gestured, a swarm of large black stinging insects flowed from the sleeve of his red robes.
They swarmed towards Avaryss only to dissolve as they touched the darkness flowing out of her feet, slithering across the floor like an icy fog.
Phylon was forced to leap out of the way as the darkness surged towards him. He started to make for the door.
Avaryss reached up with the Force, sealing it.
Don't run away yet, she thought with a feral grin.
The party is just starting.
She threw her blade at him, it spun like a saw blade, end over end.
He dodged, once again, surprising for someone of his size.
Before she could reclaim her weapon. He blasted out with Force lightning.
Avaryss caught it in the palm of her hand. Most of the energy was absorbed, but some ricocheted into the wall setting one of the Imperial banners on fire. Avaryss reached out with the Force again, and drew the flames into her hand. Phylon was trying to retreat again, heading towards his library, perhaps to scoop up some Sith trinket to aid him in this fight.
He was cut off.
The dark lord whispered a spell and blew on the fire in her hand. It leapt out, growing larger, turning into a giant hissing serpent, of blue dark side flame.
Phylon blasted it with lightning, but to no effect.
Avaryss watched hungrily as the serpent coiled around her old Force master. He screamed in terror, unable to come up with a counter to the monster.
The flames constricted as the serpent coiled around her victim.
Master Phylon burst into flames.
The Dark Lord laughed, an evil cackle that would have scared even the most resolute soul.
"CALL ME A PEASANT NOW, WORM!
"CALL ME WEAK NOW!"
Phylon was beyond words he spun on the ground writhing in pain. His force shield gave out, as his skin blackened under the heat of the fire.
He gave a final whimper, and lay shuddering on the ground.
Avaryss took a deep breath, centering herself, feeding off the pain and despair in the room.
She shuddered in ecstasy.
Mmmm!
Delicious!
Yet, she could not simply bask in this victory there was one who needed her help.
She went to Zay. The poor thing lay whimpering on the floor, curled up in a fetal ball. Tears flowing down her cheeks.
Avaryss knelt down, she touched the girl's shoulder, reaching out to her through the Force.
"Zay? Zay? Can you hear me?"
The girl whimpered; she still didn't seem to know where she was.
"Mom?" she whimpered, "Mummy?"
"Only your master, girl," Avaryss said, "The one who you saved today."
"Master," the girl said, sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Slowly, recognition came back.
"Master…I…"
Her green eyes changed, tears still ran down her cheeks, but her face was a mask of rage.
"WHERE IS HE?!"
"He is there," Avaryss said pointing. Phylon was not yet dead, though he likely wished he was. His skin was blacked and one of his arms were gone.
Zay didn't care, she leapt to her feet, shrieking like a damned soul, she leapt up and ran to where Phylon lay. She began kicking him with her heavy boot, he gurgled and tried to roll over, but couldn't even manage that.
Avaryss reached out with the Force. Lifting the girl off the ground.
Zay continued to scream trying to kick and claw at the dying pure blood.
"I'LL KILL HIM! HE WILL DIE SQUEALING FOR WHAT HE DID TO ME!"
"Calm yourself, girl," Avaryss ordered.
Zay didn't seem to hear her; she likely didn't want to hear her.
She was pure rage in that moment, shouting obscenities that would have made a space pirate blush.
Avaryss tightened her grip, not enough to damage, but to hurt…
…just enough to get the girl's attention.
Zay gasped as the air went out of her. She struggled weakly, in the air, gasping for breath.
Her master didn't release her until she calmed down.
She lowered Zay to the ground, the girl remained on her knees, wheezing, looking up at her master.
Avaryss walked over to Phylon, one of his eyes remained, its yellow glow cloudy, the other was white and cooked.
He reached up for her with his ruined hand.
She smiled.
"You asked me a question once, master," she began, "When you first taught me force lightning, you wanted to know what gave me the hate needed to generate such a terrifying display of power. I told you some nonsense about pleasing you, but that wasn't true.
She smiled wickedly.
"What I thought about that day has finally come to pass, you at my feet, cooked like a harvest day roast. This moment was a long time coming for me, Phylon. Thanks for making it possible."
The dying Sith gurgled, she doubted he could even hear her now, so lost in his pain.
She decided to err on the side of caution.
She snapped his neck with the Force.
The two Sith stood over the body, staring down at the ruin, the smell of burnt flesh and blood filling their nostrils.
"Now, we are done," the dark lord informed her student, "Now we can…"
Zay whimpered and did something unexpected.
She hugged her Sith master.
Avaryss stood there, her arms up, not really sure how to respond.
Did…did she hug the girl back, that seemed…wrong somehow.
One didn't hug their Sith Master, at least, she had never heard of such a thing.
Zay stepped away, beaming up at her teacher.
"Thank you for killing him, master."
Avaryss nodded. Once again placing the choker around her neck, her true face hidden once more by the glamour.
She bowed slightly to her student.
"And thank you, for my life, apprentice. Why did you do it, though. His offer must have been tempting. I could sense that you were considering it."
Zay shrugged.
"I did consider, but I also knew that you were right. He was lying, I could sense that too, he hoped that I would accept his offer, for the sake of power, if nothing else. I would have been trading one set of chains for another."
"Yet, you didn't," Avaryss said, sounding pleased, "You chose victory over subjugation, well done."
"Through victory, my chains are broken."
Avaryss nodded.
Pleased at the girl's choice and progress.
Now they had to leave this place, recover the key, the manuals that Phylon had found for them, but…first, Avaryss needed to find a hyper-comm, she needed to contact someone at Sanctuary base.
She would not leave this treasure trove for someone else to find. She had killed Phylon all that was here was now hers by right of conquest.
A most successful transaction.
She looked down at Phylon's corpse and sneered.
"It seems that I do have another lesson for you today, Zay?"
"What is it, master?"
Avaryss put a hand on her shoulder.
"Beware your master," she said.
And as she led the girl out, she added the second part of that lesson the one that Phylon had forgot and paid for that forgetfulness with his life.
"And always remember, dear girl…
…beware…your apprentice."