Author's Notes
I sorta feel honored that I'm finally getting flames, it means that I have now hits that point where this story reaches where it shows up on the search charts that these people can pay attention long enough to find it. If you have real problems with the story, point them out and tell me what you dislike about it than I will actually take it as a real comment. If your fucking review just says its stupid for no specific reason or for a shallow one than I give no shits.
Second, after the next chapter I will be out of stocked chapters to post. I will be setting up a poll for you guys to decide between to routes. Either I can work up another ten chapters and then do weekly posts, this however will mean that the start of these posts will be much further in the future. Or, I can post a chapter whenever I have it done... this likely would be once or twice a month. I will have the poll on my author page for you guys to vote on.
"Are you sure this is where the Gray Lady appears?" I asked Tommen as we laid forward on a small ridge, an uprooted bush covering us to give us some cover. Doubtful that if this was in fact a gunship from some galactic faction it wouldn't detect two life forms but the distance should be more than enough not to catch it's attention.
"Yes, every morning she arises from the seas and begins flying above the islands. She kills anything that she sets her sights on." The old Lannister said as he pulled a bit back into our camouflage. Lot it would do him but I didn't tell Tommen how pointless this was. It was more to make him feel like we were safe than anything.
We stayed there, waiting until finally a rumbling began and the waters were disturbed. I narrowed my eyes as a great splash exploded out from the Smoking Sea. There in front of me was a GSS-4 Hurshker Class Sith Empire gunship, covered in seaweed and rusted in a few places but unmistakably familiar. I had rode many of them into battle or called them in for support against Republic or Eternal Empire heavy support. The thing was a beast on the battlefield, heavily armored and even more so armed. Sacrificing speed and nimbleness for sheer ungodly amounts of fuck off guns. Thick armor and strong shields protected it and any normal Force User wouldn't think it a good idea to take on such a ship all by themselves. I on the other hand was batshit crazy.
"Thank you Tommen… this has told me a great deal about what I am dealing with here." I said cryptically as we watched the gunship fly off, likely operating under automated directives to patrol and kill anything that didn't have a Friend-Foe-Identification. As it flew away from us and well beyond where it could detect us, I crawled out from under the bush and looked back toward the capital city of Valyria. Without another word I began walking toward the ruined towers but was stopped when Tommen grabbed my arm.
"You don't want to go there." He said with a grave warning in his voice.
"Anything more you want to tell me about this place." I said as I pulled my arm back.
"The sentinels of the Dragon Lords still watch over their corpses. Not even the Stone Men travel there." He said as he gazed toward the destroyed city, I'm sure he had very much wanted to travel there in search of treasures… at first. Now he likely wanted to go there to see if there was any food. But what he was saying meant only one thing, droids. If the Hurshker was to go by anything, then they were likely the RX-73 battle Droids, the front-line humanoids droids that the Empire used. And maybe a few the quad legged VX-23s, which I personally think are better than the Droidekas… though they could use a shield generator.
Tommen's warning did not dissuade me but I decided to scout out the city before taking the trip there myself. My drones were still scanning the island, looking for the two dragon eggs I had to get for my slaves. This left with a more direct but difficult method of scouting. But… I wasn't that confident in my mind. As much as I have improved to reclaim the power that the real Naraiz once had, I still don't think I'm close to him. This could be a good test to see just how far I've come.
Me and Tommen returned to his cave and I sat in a meditative position on the edge of the cliff that overlooked the edges of the city. The sun shone behind me and my shadow stretched down off the cliff. I reached out into the Force and floated Midwan out in front of me. Using the blade as a focus I tapped into the Dark Side and began building up its power around me. The nearby Lannister shivered as the sense of unease began to creep into his mind.
As I maintained my mind, wading it through the inky blackness that was the Dark Side, my shadow began to stretch and grow. Using the Power of the Light Side to form a small buffer between me and the empty abyss of temptation. My shadow soon reached out, clawed at the edges of its two dimensional state and soon ripped itself off the stone of the cliff side. A hunched over wraith-like creature soon pulled itself into the open air under me. It floated up and Tommen fell back on his feet at seeing my Force Shadow. Tattered cloak covered a large hunched back, two long arms ending in taloned fingers extended out of the shadow's body, it all ended in a whipping spine like tail. Under the black cloak's hood opened a milky white eye that glowed bright. I could see perfectly out of it and my real body smirked at seeing Tommen crawling back in fear. I then sent my Shadow forward to scout out the city.
"If you're going to try and stab me in the back, I would highly recommend you don't." I said as the floating Midwan dashed forward in the air and nearly touched the tip of Tommen's chin. He stumbled back further as he felt a sharp pain come from the contact. I ignored the former Lannister king and refaced back on my Shadow, intent on finding somewhere in the city to explore.
My shadow traveled down the valley between the cliffs that Tommen called home and the very edges of the ruined city of Valyria. I passed over a high curtain wall, I turned my shadow and focused on the fused black stone that made up the wall. It was much like the Black Wall of Volantis and given that the Free City was originally built by the Valyrians I had to assume that some sort of Particle Shield was used here as well. Dismissing that line of thought I flew high into the sky and circled one of the still standing towers of the city.
I had my theories but what I saw confirmed many of them. In the massive tower was a decent amount of modern technology, for all manner of uses both comfort and utility, was still here. All of it was covered in dust but I'm sure most of it could be salvaged. But that was at the very top, as I descended in the tower, less and less tech was used. And by the time I reached the bottom, the level of advancement was just roughly late Industrial era. All of it still looked in much the same aesthetic of how Valyrians built and crafted things. All of them told me one thing, the imperial tech was being rationed to the very top of society. There was no way that this place was an official Imperial colony.
Firstly, I would have been made aware of such a project. I was the Empire's Wrath, the Sith that kept other Sith in line. There was the chance that a Darth found this world and decided to keep it for themselves in secret. But I and the Cipher Core would have sniffed them out. Supporting worlds, even if you use a local population as a proxy, was a costly endeavor and one that would need to be done through official channels or else the logistical departments start asking questions and making inquiries to the Dark Council. And none of them would dare to keep something like this world from me. Well… Nox would. But fuck that crazy bitch.
That all means that Valyria was likely supported by imperial forces after the fall of the Empire. In what way I'm not sure but the limited supplies would suggest that it was a project that was on a tight budget. Considering the way the Republic diverted from the original canon, and most certainly would not have allowed the former Empire core worlds to fund a project like this on their own… I'm pretty sure I'm looking at the fruits of some runaway Sith's efforts.
I directed my shadow out into the streets of the ruined city and after some searching found a patrol of RX-73 Imperial Battle Droids, not in best condition mind you. In a group of five, two of them lacked an arm and another was missing a leg and was lagging behind the others as it was unable to walk normally with the barely working replacement leg. They crossed paths with other patrols and I watched as they returned to a central point in the city, there was a lift with four VX-23s guarding it… sorta. They were aiming their guns toward the lift as opposed to away. The RXs then waited for a bit before taking the lift down after a new squad of droids unloaded themselves.
Something was happening underground, the city ruins had given me clues to what happened but it was plain as day that I would need to dive deeper in order to discover the truth of the Valyrians. My shadow soared down to the lowering platform and caught it just as it stopped at the entrance to a cave system. Strange, it was only barely reinforced with support scaffolding. Hmm… many possibilities as to why but for right now they were low on the priority list. My shadow flew through the caves and soon came to a crossroad, one looked to be more reinforced and pieced together by metal flooring and actual ceilings, the other was scarcely better than a straight up cave. I took the former.
My shadow followed the tunnel and I was pleased to see that there came lights hanging from the ceiling, that meant someone was around to keep all of this going. Someone other than an out of place Lannister King was living in Valyria. And this person knew a basic understanding of how to keep a base running. I needed to find this person and fast. But before I could do that… my eyes opened and a massive migraine hit my head as the connection between my shadow and my mind was cut.
"Fuck… that hurts." I held my face as a throbbing pain shot through my head. The last thing my shadow saw was a humanoid in tattered black robes. I tried to focus on the memory and could pull a howling face with blackened blood staining its chin, lines of dried blood coming down from its eyes and nose. "Dark Side zombies… advance ones too." I muttered as I stood up. This was not a good sign, among many conflicting ones that I learned. Something bad happened here. This entire place was a Wound In The Force, that was clear. Force nonsense happened all the time around places like this and the time dilation could only be one of many effects the Wound was causing. I would need to go down into the heart of the mess to figure it all out. Glancing back to Tommen's cave, I knew it might be a good idea to bring him along. He wasn't going to be leaving this island alive and he was a decent fighter… so there was minimal risk to him seeing something I wouldn't want outsiders to see.
Tywin Lannister had been looking over the papers detailing the arrival of fifteen hundred slaves from Lys. Former slaves. Former slaves that were now all traveling out of King's Landing and heading off to Harrenhal. It had been weeks since this event happened and it had the nobility roaring with anger, Tywin thought the idea of Westerosi hatred of slavery to be very ironic. The treatment of the peasantry was nearly as bad as those with collars around their necks. But regardless, Naraiz had seen fit to do this little stunt and now Tywin had to consider the implications of it.
Firstly, the Sith seemed dead set on filling Harrenhal. These fifteen hundred bed slaves would not be the last, only a fool would think so. Tywin could see the plan that was happening before him. First bring the pretty and alluring former bed slaves to Westeros, they could give a soft face to the whole idea and make people willing to let this pass. Furthermore, these slaves had little in the way of means to actually find work in Westeros once they finally arrived in Harrenhal. They would then seek out husbands and wives that did have the means to support a life… and being what they were, Essosi would have little trouble in finding young men and women willing to marry them. This would help cushion the cultural clashing that would eventually come about when the second wave of former slaves arrived.
And there would be a second wave. Tywin would bet his life on that. Bed Slaves could be useful in certain ways but they paled in comparison to the skilled laborers that could be bought in the slave markets of Volantis or Slaver's Bay. With a good number of them one could possibly restore Harrenhal back to its former glory should the problem of Dragon Fire melted stone be figured out. And Tywin expected either there was a method in Essos for that or Naraiz would just discover it all on his own. He had an annoying habit of finding ways to do things everyone thinks to be impossible.
And this was all going on as he was getting reports that the Sith now had roughly over a hundred children in their grasp. Eighteen of them were noble born… one was even from a Great House. The youngest Stark. All of this was not good news to Tywin who was hoping that the numbers would stay relatively low. The Seekers of the Sith had been focusing on keeps and the nearest towns to Harrenhal, Tywin had been having people keep track of which keeps had been visited and by his count nearly sixty-five percent of all of the noble houses of Westeros had been cleared by the Seekers. And only gathering eighteen children was a good thing in Tywin's opinion. But, he knew that they had avoided the cities and the Iron Islands all together. Both of which Tywin wasn't looking forward to getting the reports of just how many children would be taken from. Once the towns and keeps were cleared they would move to the larger populations centers, Old Town, White Harbor, Lannisport, Gulltown, King's Landing. There was no telling how much the Siths' ranks would swell.
And this was only the first generation. Naraiz had said the power of the Force could be passed down, and if even only one child for every Sith had the Force that would further increase Naraiz's followers far too much. Then there was the fact that every year new children were born with the chance that they could have the Force. Meaning that the Seekers of the Sith would never stop looking. And this was all excluding the possibility that Naraiz might start sending his Seekers to Essos.
The worst part was this was all happening without Naraiz even being here to directly oversee it all. He was still off in Essos doing gods know what. Gathering allies and making contacts was Tywin's best guest but there was also rumor that he had been seen in Volantis and then suddenly leaving without his normal ship… heading for Valyria. That was a small tidbit that Tywin had been keeping from the King. Who knows what might happen should Aerys hear that his favored sorcerer was traveling to the place of the Targaryen's origin.
"Is this really happening? A Lion asking a Kraken to pillage and plunder ships?" Balon chuckled darkly as he leaned back in the chair sitting in front of the Hand's desk. Tywin sneered as he looked out the window and watched the ships come in and out of Blackwater Bay. "And a fine Rose watches on in concert." Balon glanced over to Janna Fossoway who just turned her nose up at his leers.
"House Tyrell has made the internal decision that the Sith Order is disrupting the peace and proper order of the realm. As such we need to further curb their growth." Janna said having just gotten a raven from her mother on this. She wasn't too pleased with how Janna had been handling the situation… attempting to marry off Darth Nagash had backfired horribly. Now instead of some worthless Fray he was to be wedded to the daughter of a Great House.
"And that plan has been workin' out so great so far." Balon gave a mix of a chuckle and a growl as he was both finding this funny and irritating. Watching the mainlanders try and stop a monster like Naraiz was like watching a shark kill a bear… on land. Out of its element and against an equally deadly foe. Balon had seen what Naraiz represented, the second coming of Aegon the Conqueror. All those Kings of Old thought the same things that these fools were right now, thinking that the old rules still applied. And while he wanted the Old Ways back, he knew he couldn't stay in the past in order to succeed in the present.
"Quiet." Tywin scolded and both of his guests shut their mouths. Both of them had been ready for a screaming match and Tywin felt like he was corralling children. And these two were all that was left of the secret coalition against the Sith. He had written a letter to Strom's End but got no reply. The Riverlands were now too in bed with the Sith with the upcoming marriage. The House of Arryn seemed willing to sit in the Vale and watch things unfold… typical for them. What few contacts he had in Dorne all reported that the Dornish as a whole were taken in by the ruse of the promise of the Sith. The North was firmly on Naraiz's side given their prior relations. So now it was only the Westerlands, Reach, and Iron Islands that were willing to directly reign in the beast that had been invited into their lands. "Grayjoy, you will direct your fleets of pirates and raider scum to focus on any and all ships coming in from Volantis, and the other Free Cities. There will be more freed slaves coming into Westeros and that is something that we cannot have."
"The Essosi slavers don't like seeing Iron Born in their waters, tend to put their rivalries aside to focus on us when rumors spread that we're in their seas." Balon grumbled as he cracked a few of his knuckles. The idea of raiding the Free Cities had long been a dream of the Iron Born but the locals seemed very intent on keeping them from doing so. The Pirate Lords of the Stepstones barred them from raiding all but one of the Free Cities and Lys was a city that the Iron Born would rather peacefully port at than be put on bad terms with. And as for Volantis… it was too far for any meaningful or profitable voyage for any fleet of Iron Born that wasn't the Iron Fleet itself. "And as much as I hate that bastard Naraiz, I don't have the pull with my father to put together a fleet that's sole purpose is to deny slaves from coming into the realm."
"What you are saying is that you need some incentive." Tywin said as he took his chair across from the two. It was a reasonable excuse, the Iron Born operated on the western shores of Westeros and at times in Dorne. Now Tywin had the answer for why which was a nice piece of information in of itself. "While your family does now sow, you still need to fill your stores for winter. How are they looking these days." Tywin said and Janna gave the pirate next to her a knowing Tyrell smile as Balon scowled.
"Low." He grunted and continued to scowl before he figured out what Tywin was playing at. "We don't take charity, I won't-"
"But your father will." Tywin interrupted the fool. Tywin knew for a fact that Balon hated the pacifist and neutral policies that his father favored. The current Lord Reaper of Pyke still allowed the Iron Born to raid and pillage while giving lip service to the idea that he was discouraging it but he wasn't Balon. Balon actively spoke out in favor of the Old Way, the traditional way of living that would bring the Iron Islands back to an age of actively supporting piracy instead of just turning a blind eye to it. "I will write to your father and explain that Tyrell grain and meat will be shipped to Pyke as charitable relief supplies for this harsh winter." Balon was grinding his teeth with every word and Tywin gave no cares to the anger on the pirate's face. "And you will travel back to Pyke and explain to him that this is a exchange for him secretly assembling a fleet to intercept any slave galleys coming to Westeros."
"House Tyrell would more than happy to help out the poor starving Iron Born." Janna said smugly and Tywin could have used it without that. While he was dismissive of Balon at the moment, he knew that he was the heir of Pyke and the Iron Islands. While the young man was angry now at Tywin, he was smarter than a brute and Tywin was sure that later he would cool off and understand the need for this. That was if this all remained a business transaction, but the former Tyrell was making it personal.
"Lady Fossoway, need I remind you that you are merely a go between for us and the Tyrells." Tywin said, making sure to stretch out her married name. Balon looked a little pleased by her dressing down but Tywin knew that he would still remember that slight Janna gave him. However that in itself was perfectly fine should that slight be repaid many years from now.
Rickard Stark rode back into his home from a long journey to White Harbor. Lord Manderly was happy to host him and tried several times to promise his sons to Lyanna but Rickard had to refuse the man. He needed to find Lyanna a husband that would at the very least be able to contend with her wild spirit. And the Manderlys for all their time in the North still acted a bit too southern. They wouldn't be able to handle a wolf stalking the Merman's Court if it was one such as his daughter.
But now he was back behind the curtain walls of Winterfell and several days early at that. He had ridden his horse hard, wanting to be home after the many weeks that he had spent in some of the southern holds of the North. His wife had pointed out that as Warden of the North he should take more care to build relations with all his lords, not just those he most favored like the Umbers and Karstarks. Rickard understood this and did admit he tended to pay certain families more honors than others. So he agreed, for months now he had spent time riding, feasting, hunting, and all other manner of things with many lords of the North.
It was still a little too early to think of the results of such measures, but Rickard felt it in his bones that this would bring good things. Already he could recall the differences in his vessels, they were certainly warmer to him after his time spent under their roofs when compared to when he first arrived on their doorstep. Would this result in better taxes or stronger bounds of loyalty… he hoped so but could not think of such things now. Now he was home and wanted to see his wife.
The half a year she had spent away had reminded him of many things. That a man was only his happiest when with the woman he loved. He had not been blind, he knew that Lyarra never felt as he did for her. And these recent trips among his bannermen had only made him see exactly what his marriage truly was. He had seen a good few Lords and Ladies that loved each other with all their hearts, doting on each other with warmth that made a person forget it was winter outside. Rickard could not compare his own marriage to them, not once in his whole life with Lyarra could he do that. He aimed to fix that, if it was not already too late.
"My lord, you are early. We were not expecting you for some time." The new Maester, Luwin, said as he approached Rickard as the lord descended down his horse. While there had been only a few short meetings between them since Luwin took over from Walys, Rickard had found he preferred this new Maester over Walys. He was less… insistent in matters. And he was respectful of the way things were done here in the North. Rickard would thank the stray wolf that somehow found its way into Winterfell if it wasn't for the fact none of the guards could find it and it had not been so savage with Walys' body. It was a horrid thing, the mangled body looked like a demon had come at it with the fury only a truly terrible beast could have.
"I wanted to be home Maester, to see my children and wife again." Rickard said as the stable boy took his horse, he would make sure that the steed be given something extra for how hard it worked to get him home. "How have things fared since I've been gone."
"Quite well, Lady Stark has a remarkable mind when it comes to finance. Though she is very private when it comes to such things, only ever letting her handmaid in with her as she works." Rickard's lip twitched at the mention of his wife's handmaid from the south, a commoner named Josey. He had been uneased by the request, letting his wife take a southern woman into the household without informing him of it prior to arriving. But hearing that she was a trusted woman that had been in the service of the late Lady Lannister, whom Lyarra had written to Rickard many times about, it helped. But Rickard did not like how much time Lyarra seemed to spend with her handmaid. It was either with her or the children. After the initial first month of her return she was attentive but after that… she began drifting away again. "Brandon is progressing well in his studies… when he attends them. And Lyanna is the same as you left, stubbornly refusing to listen to a word I say." Luwin chuckled and that was another thing Rickard had to be thankful for, that Luwin was far more patient with Lyanna than Walys ever was.
"All good news, now if you'll excuse me I'd like to be alone with my wife for a bit." Luwin nodded and left Rickard to do as he pleased. He first checked his solar to see if Lyarra was there still handling his duties while he was away. No, he then checked the kitchens and the great hall, she was in neither. He was a little surprised to hear from a servant that Lyarra tended to rest during this time of the day. Seemed odd. But he now had where she was and it was all for the better that she was in their bedroom. Though he found it even more odd that there were no guards anywhere near his bedroom. He was about to open the door when his body froze.
He suddenly heard a loud moan come from beyond the wooden door to his own bedroom. It was his wife's voice. He knew it, and his mind began working with a cold fury of the worst winter that could be thrown at the North. Pictures of some man in there with his wife, defiling her. And then so many things made sense, why his wife had suggested he take so many trips, why he felt things were even worse than they had been, why he sometimes found his bed without his wife in the mornings, and a general unease he had been feeling. His hand gripped the door handle and slammed it open, he prepared to yell and possibly kill whoever it was that was with his wife but what he saw caused the gears in his head to lock up and break down. There he saw his wife's handmaid, naked and her head in between his wife's legs.
"Rickard!" The sound of Lyarra's panicked scream snapped him partially out of the daze he had found himself in. The two women untangled themselves from each other and Josey covered herself as best she could. "W-what are you doing here, you weren't…"
"Stop." He said sternly but there was a lack of rage that he hadn't been expecting. With one hand he rubbed his face as a wave of exhaustion hit him like a bear's claw.
"Rickard… please don't kill her." Lyarra pleaded and Rickard blinked behind his hand and only then realized that his other hand rested on his sword's hilt. With a deep breath he pulled both hands away and kept them to his sides. Both women visibly relaxed but still were clearly worried about the fact they were caught. There was a long silence that drew between them, and after what seemed like for hours Rickard finally stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He then locked it shut and then took a nearby seat for himself.
"How long?" That seemed to be the best place to start for Rickard. As good a place as any.
"Depends on what you mean. If you're asking how long me and Josey have been having…" Lyarra looked down, ashamed and uncomfortable with facing her husband. The words seemed lost as she spoke.
"Sex, the word you're looking for is sex." Both Lyarra and Rickard glared at the blond in the room for her comment.
"Now is not the time Jo." Lyarra growled and the other woman only just shrugged and looked mildly put off by the reprimand. Rickard felt his knuckles tighten and his heart break further. This wasn't a casual fling that Lyarra was having. There was something more real than he ever had with her, that much he could tell by that simple and short interaction the two women had. "Me and Josey have been sharing a bed since after the first month I arrived in King's Landing. Jonna Lannister introduced us and… I can't even begin to tell you how it all started with how fast it was. But if you're asking for how long has it been since I no longer loved you, I couldn't answer that because I never did. And I truly do feel sorry and ashamed for that fact but it is the truth."
"I knew that, didn't want to believe it but I knew somewhere." Rickard said, low and weary but loud enough for the other two in the room to hear. He just wanted to sleep, he just wanted to crawl into a black pit and never leave. He still loved her gods damn it! He still wanted her to be happy even seeing what he saw. If for no other reason than because she had made him so happy for so long. Stood by him and laid beside him for so many years and gave him wonderful children.
"And now I know why." She said and he looked up and could see a true smile on his wife's face. The kind she only ever gave to their children. The kind that he had never seen directed toward himself. "I love you Rickard as the father of our children but I simply cannot as a wife. Josey helped me understand that and why it is. I never was once attracted to you Rickard because I can only ever be attracted to women."
"W-what?" Rickard's eyes widened but then he thought about it. It did help him understand why things were the way they were. And this wasn't exactly what he had hoped for whenever he thought about why his marriage wasn't a perfect one. But this was better than her shunning him for another man. At least in his mind it was.
"Yes…" It was then that Lyarra took Josey's hand into her own and gave the woman a kiss that had more passion and love than anything she had given Rickard in his life. When she finished she held her lover close and spoke again. "I love this woman, I can't deny it and won't ever do so." She then let go and looked back to Rickard who was still very stunned by the display in front of him. "So cast us out, throw us to the woods or even take our heads. Do what you must but I will not deny who I am anymore."
"Uh… could you not have us executed though." Josey put out there and to her and Lyarra's shock, Rickard chuckled a bit.
"No… I will not be putting you two to the chopping block." He said as he leaned back in his seat, taking in a deep sigh as he stared up at the ceiling. "Lyarra, the day that Brandon is ready for his time as Lord of Winterfell I will take the Black. It is something I have been looking forward to for a great deal of time. And I finally understand that I have been doing so for this exact reason. To escape this prison of a marriage that traps us both. Because I do love you, and it is a torment to see you every day and know you don't love me. But if you have found your happiness in the arms of this woman… it will make my life easier knowing you are happy." He then stood up and walked to the door. "Thank you for the happiest years of my life, I pray to the old gods that this will be a new day for both of us." He said before walking out of the room and leaving the two women alone. Both Lyarra and the blond woman with her stared at the door for several minutes before letting go the breath they had been holding.
"He bought it, you two actually fooled him with that shitty acting." The voice of Jaesa carried out as the Sith dropped from the ceiling where she had been hiding all along. "You're just lucky that guy has a lot of pent up guilt eating away inside him and he doesn't see lesbians in the same light as cheaters. Because if he had caught you with a man then you'd both be dead."
"Yes! Lyarra won't have to have sex with that man ever again." Joanna screamed into Lyarra's bosom with glee. She was the most excited by this little plot because it would lead to being able to hog Lyarra all to herself until the day when they would return to their master. Now they wouldn't need to tip toe nearly as much, they would still need to be careful to prevent rumors but now that Rickard was in on it they had a measure of freedom. If someone started to think that Lady Stark was unfaithful, the first place they would go is Lord Stark. If this was the south then that wouldn't be true but this was the North… things were different here.
"I think we did a spectacular job." Lyarra said with pointed glare to Jaesa as she held the celebrating Joanna to her chest, her body still felt warmed up from earlier and now that business had been handled she was ready for Joanna to finish it. Jaesa snorted and started toward the window. "Thank you…" That however stopped her. "… I know you did not need to do this for us, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Jaesa just stood still after Lyarra thanked her for what she did. Peering into Rickard soul and finding if this entire plot was viable and just how they could word all this to maximize the effect. Jaesa continued to just stand there and Lyarra opened her mouth to say something else but that was when the Sith decided it was time to leave. Jumping out the window and cloaking herself in the Force to prevent anyone from seeing her.
The lift stopped with a sudden thud and Tommen buckled a bit at the unexpected movement. He was still in awe how I just shut down the battle droids with a voice command. A voice command that was integrated into all Imperial Battle Droids and only those on the Dark Council knew. Getting past droids was easy and I wanted to make sure that they could be used for later. Possibly as a means of guarding my most valuable and secret places of interest. Having a guard force that couldn't be tracked by any means by the locals and that didn't need to eat or sleep would come in handy.
"Seven Hells… I had not thought that this day would bring about such wonders." Tommen mumbled as he returned to his feet and looked at me with a mad look of excitement. He seemed to have these mood swings. One second somber and then the next wild and crazed but with a purpose. "Come on, let us meet many more new wonders head on!" He said and took a step forward but I grabbed a hold of his collar.
"Hold it goldy boy, you need to understand that something very dark and likely very deadly is roaming these caves. I can already sense the Wound in the Force is stronger the deeper we get. That means that you're going to need to stay sharp and ready for anything." I told him and he just nodded like an excited child about to explore a new cave filled with treasures. It was fine, if he died I honestly wouldn't be too sad to see him go. All I needed was his sword, that was a massive bargaining chip and I wasn't leaving this place without it.
The two of us began down the cave system after that and we followed down where my shadow had gone. It all looked just as it did hours ago when my Force Shadow had passed through. And as we came to the split in the tunnel, I looked down at the one I had taken earlier. I tried to peer through the darkness but as I squinted I found my eyes straining to see even something closer to me. The Wound in the Force was starting to get really irritating. It was beginning to debuff my powers and strain my senses. I had to thank the fact I already had been dealing with the nagging sensation of the Dark Side for about a year now or else I'd be feeling that too.
I calmed down and took several breaths, trying to commune with the Light Side to grant a bit of protection. I felt my veins flush with the harmony and tranquility of the Light Side, like the purest morphine in existence. That was the danger of the Light Side, that it eroded your passion and drove you to inactivity. The Jedi of this reality however seem to have done something to avoid this… or maybe it's affecting them differently. But for right now I focused on myself and flushed my body with the Light Side and could feel it cleanse me of all the negative effects of the Wound while granting me a protective barrier. Downside was I couldn't use Dark Side Powers while I was like this. I opened my eyes and looked back into the darkness and… I wish I hadn't.
"Tommen… get ready." I said as I pulled my swords out and the Lannister King did the same as the sounds of angry moaning started trickling down from the tunnel. Out from a corner further down the hall stumbled a humanoid form, it turned its head and it was exactly the same creature that destroyed my shadow. If I had to guess, it was a reanimated corpse of a Valyrian Force User. Its eyes were dead black, and it had trails of dried blood running down its face. It and the others that were following the lead one were all wearing robes that matched the artwork of the Valyrians back in my previous life. The more I saw them the more I was convinced that I was looking at the remains of the Valyrian nobility.
"Demons… they are real." Tommen said with a disturbing mix of fear and eagerness. The small horde of Force Zombies turned toward us and one shrieked before running toward us at full sprint. In its hand was a sword that shined with the same sheen as Brightroar, Valyrian Steel. Great. "Die demon! Face the Lion King in your final moments!" Tommen yelled and ran forward like the mad man he was and swung at the front most zombie, who blocked the strike. The rest I watched as they ran past the two dueling fighters and were running straight toward me. Seemingly completely uninterested in Tommen.
"They're drawn to Force Users." Made sense, and it actually worked for me. They all came barreling at me and I took up a Shii-Cho position and focused myself on the incoming foes. My first two swings told me something I expected, that the normal effects that my blades had did in fact not occur on Valyrian Steel. Midwan did not rust away the swords and Saarai did not simply turn them to dust. I began sweeping and countering the zombies attacks, I rarely did train with Form One and so against actually competent enemies I might be in trouble. But Shii-Cho was designed for one versus many, and these moaning Force Zombies were not capable fighters. One went down, and then another. I was able to strike clean blows in between their sloppy attacks and soon enough only two were left and I finished them off by floating them into the air and slamming them back down into the ground, breaking all their bones in the process. I did so just in time to watch Tommen decapitate his own enemy.
"Haha! I Tommen Lannister, rightful King of the Westerlands and Master of the Rock have defeated a demon of Valyria. Not even the Dragon Lord's ghost can…" Tommen turned back and saw the many dead bodies surrounding me and that seemed to take the winds out of his sails so to say. I chuckled and walked past him with a pat to the back. He did the best he could.
The two continued down the tunnel and came upon a few more groups of Force Zombies. This time however I directed Tommen to stay back and take advantage of the fact that these things seemed only concerned with me. He would linger at the edges while I stayed in Form One, and kill any of the Force Zombies from the back. He wasn't happy at such a dishonorable way of fighting but I pointed out that this wasn't for honor but survival. That seemed to soothe his mind and he complied. This continued on until we reached the end of the winding halls, of which we found several that had branched off. The end of them all came a pair of massive blast doors that I recognized as a set that came off of a Terminus Class Destroyer. Oh please… please dear fucking god!
I slammed the doors open with the Force and swiftly rushed into a massive underground cavern. I slowed to a stop at the edge of the raised platform where the doors led onto. It overlooked everything, a wide and spanning ground floor of the cavern where at the very back was the partially salvaged hull of a Sith Empire Terminus Class Destroyer sticking into the stone. I looked on in awe and glee, while I knew that this ship would never again see the stars, it still was a welcome sight. Not only did this confirm many of my theories but it also provided me with the means to do so much more. But then my awe was stilled as I heard a loud groan of metal and looked up. There I saw a hatch built into the ceiling, it opened and a flood of water poured down and my mind began to put the pieces together. I quickly ducted under the solid railing as I heard the hum of anti-grav engines enter the chamber.
This was where the Imperial gunship was coming into. The docking tunnel that it went through must start underwater, however I doubt that it was always like that. Or maybe the part of the Smoking Sea that it came out of used to be a lake before the Doom. Minor details that didn't matter so much anymore. I heard the gunship hover a bit more and then soon enough the hum of the anti-grav engine shut down and I could hear the small clanking of maintenance droids begin their work. Someone was still living here and had an entire system set up. How did the Force Zombies factor in though? And was this a group or just one person. I'm assuming the former as it would be difficult to keep all this going alone. I peered up over the railing and saw the gunship had landed on a nearby platform. The water below was being drained off and likely pumped back into the seas from where it came. It added to the idea that this place was made in such a way to contend with a flooding situation. But I was still more interested in finding whoever was doing all this. But thankfully the magic of the plot moved things along.
"Not another step or your friend here dies. Now stand with your hands above your head." I heard from behind and smirked… that was an Imperial accent I heard. And it was a voice I recognized. I slowly stood up and clasped my hands behind my back.
"Nice to see you're still alive after all these years Rathari." I said and turned my head to show my face to one of my many converts. There I saw Rathari beginning to stumble back in shock after letting go of Tommen who looked quite relieved and surprised all at the same time. Granted he was being held hostage by a man with a lightsaber, a weapon that the Lannister had never before seen so his shocked state was reasonable. Oh and the hostage thing too.
"My Lord Wrath… how?" Rathari gasped as he stared at me in awe. He was just as recalled, a giant of a man with various cybernetics implanted in his naturally pale skin. He actually didn't have many mutations thanks to the Dark Side due to the fact I caught him early in his career as a Sith Lord and brought him over to the Revanites. Ironically he took to the creed far more thoroughly than I did as I later delved too deep into the Dark Side and got the form I currently had. But while Rathari's appearance had remained mostly the same, aged a bit given the time period he should be far more along than he was, what really caught my senses was his soul. While I couldn't perfectly read souls like Jaesa… I still could sense the important things.
"You achieved Balance." I said ignoring his question. Last I saw him was when I left Dromund Kaas for the last time in the war. Giving him instructions on how to proceed should I die, if he had followed those… nah they were very short term plans and if survived then he would need to plan further ahead.
"I did my lord, though I would say at great cost. One that I am not sure that was worth my entire life let alone this achievement." He said with a weary sigh that spoke of a man that had long since been in a cycle that he saw no end in sight. Even seeing me didn't seem to change this in him. "I did as you instructed and gathered the True Followers as you wanted, but by the time I had done so the rest of your plans were no longer viable. The Republic military doctrine changed, brutal even by our own standards. Wholesale slaughter of Imperial army regiments, they were taking no prisoners and any civilians they found loyal to the empire were herded up and brought to the core worlds. Those systems were made into cages and the Republic their jailers. As for the Sith… any and all were killed on sight." Ah, so that's how it happened. It made sense in some ways, make sure that all your enemies are in one tight place. Could backfire easily but the fact that leadership was solely in the hands of the Sith made any forming a good resistance effort impossible by lack of leaders to rally around.
"And if that was the case how did you come to be here?" I asked and by this point Rathari was on his knees and I was pacing in front of him. It was a small tick that I had acquired from master Baras.
"After I had gathered the True Followers…" The True Followers, a cadre of Sith, Imperial officers, soldiers, nobles, civilians, former slaves, actual slaves, and other misfits that I had gathered together into a network of loyal supporters and admirers. People that I knew were capable and had been collecting even since I was old enough to hold someone to a promise. "… we decided that the Empire was falling down around us and needed to escape. Many of us still believed that you would return and find us. I guess we were correct." Rathari gave a weak chuckle and I felt a bit of shame, they put their faith in me and I failed them. I couldn't have ever lived up to that hope as fate, time, and God all saw fit to land me in this time period but I still felt guilty. "We gathered together aboard the Titan's Shield, the ship that lays before you." Rathari nodded to the Terminus Class Destroyer.
"And did you come to this world? There was nothing like it ever in the records of the Empire or the Republic. Such a world that seems to be bathed in the power of the Force would be utilized by either or any party that knew of it." I questioned and already I knew the answer, because God wanted it for me. But no one needed to know about that.
"We came to it purely by chance my lord. Was it the will of the Force or blind luck I can not tell you for sure." I had a feeling that it was again God messing around or maybe it was just that I was sent to a reality in which those were just the odds of this all happening. Didn't want to dwell on it too much but it was something to take note of for later. "We crashed into the Valyrian peninsula when we exited hyperspace too close to this world's gravity well. The Titan's Shield embedded itself too deep into the crust to even think of escaping. By the time that we had dug a passage large enough for our shuttles we had already decided to live among the Valyrians and rule them." I had to remain calm… remain… calm.
"Do you still have these shuttles?" I asked, trying to keep the desperation in my voice hidden.
"No my lord, during our conquests a schism occurred and the rebels took the shuttles to the west last we were able to track their signals around the edges of the world's arctic circle." FUCK! The fucking White Walkers had my best chance at getting off planet. "We hadn't heard anything from the rebels and I have been more concerned with keeping the city secure than keeping track of them. My deepest apologies for not holding the assets you needed my lord."
"No, I had not come expecting to find any of this, my ship is still salvageable and with the parts that we can pull from here I'm sure it will fly once again." I knew that while the parts would be here and those maintenance droids would help, it would still be years before my Fury would be ready. But right now I was more interested in what happened here. "After you made contact with the natives of this world, what happened?" I needed to know the history and understand everything that the True Followers were able to gather about this world. It's nature as a Nexus of the Force, because it had to be one, was my top priority.
"They were but simple sheep herders when we dug out of the ground. They didn't find us but we found them, and we decided to rule over them as gods. The Empire had fallen and we knew we did not have the means to bring it back." Rathari said and I could understand where he was coming from. While my followers were talented and only chosen if they showed promise, they were not the type of people that could reforge the empire. They were not Darths nor heroes. They were side characters, as belittling as that term could be it was true. At least when in the wider galaxy, but here they were so much more than that. "We raised them up, using both Sith Sorcery and our technology we crafted the Valyrian Empire. As we did so we discovered that this world was a focal point for the Force, just like Korriban though not seeped in the Dark Side."
"And so you cultivated the Force in the Valyrians. Gave them dragons and taught them the magic of the Force." I said as he nodded along with my words.
"Yes, the Dragons had been something to replace starfighters for air superiority. They became ingrained into the culture to a degree we had not expected. But we ruled as kings and so it mattered not what the natives did… for a time." Rathari shuddered and I felt his soul shiver in fear and disgust. Something very bad happened, the Doom or perhaps what led up to it. "First the schism occurred, several of the Sith that you trusted became disillusioned with your teachings and fled. We initially thought they would carve out their own empire in the western continent, but nothing came about it. I and only fifteen others remained that knew you personally and understood the importance of the Balance."
"The rest of the Force Users were Valyrians and they began tampering with things that should not be touched by amateurs." I sneered and Rathari nodded again. It was building up to be just as I thought. The Valyrians were taught my teachings but they lacked a true role model, something that had in fact achieved Balance. I had Master Revan and Rathari and the other True Followers had me but the Valyrians only had second hand accounts. And so the message wasn't nearly as great in effect.
"At first it was Geomancy and Metallurgy. They created true Force Blades and we were blinded by this achievement that we thought they should be given more freedom to create other wonders." Rathari said and while I certainly felt a ping of awe and reverence when he spoke of Valyrian Steel there was also contempt and betrayal. It intrigued me. Mostly because this confirmed that Valyrian Steel was in fact a mass produced Force Blade, a massive accomplishment but at the same time not something I would call extortionary. Any Sith that knew Metallurgy Sith Alchemy could produce a blade that was decently on par with a Lightsaber.
"I have seen Valyrian Steel, it truly is an achievement of Force crafting but why would it get you to lower your guard in such a way." This however made Rathari look up in confusion. He glanced down the blades on my hips and looked back up to me as if awaiting for something.
"The Force Blades… the Valyrians achieved something that the Sith could never hope to do. Infusing the Force into metal without the Dark Side." I raised my eyebrows at this, all of Sith Alchemy was based on the Dark Side. It was the primary reason why the original Dark Jedi split the main order and eventually formed the Sith Order. To change reality to one's own desires was a tenet of the Dark Side and thus Sith Alchemy was one of the greatest expressions of it. But if what Rathari was saying was true… this changed everything.
I then looked down to Saarai, how could I be so blind. This blade on my hip was anything but a Dark Side weapon. It was created by the Daughter and was the extension of the half of my soul that was of the Light Side. The side that still reigned in my sins and kept me somewhat moral. The side that gave me the ability to still feel compassion and peace of mind without a nagging hunger at the back of my mind. Sith Alchemy was only half of the full potential and I never even once thought about it!
Then I thought about it more. If this was something I and every other Sith overlooked then what else could the Force do beyond the canon doctrine of the two Orders. The Force was never held down by absolutes beyond the rule that there were two sides of it. Powers and abilities ranged far and wide, it was one of the ultimate Deus Ex Machinas in all of fiction. And here I was in the Star Wars reality with that very understanding and never once thought beyond the confines of a Force User trained in one particular way. HOLY SHIT I COULD MAKE STANDS! I could do so much with this… there was infinite possibility of bullshit right in front of me.
"My lord?" Rathari said and he snapped me out of whatever trance I appeared to be in. The vision of me using The World to utterly pulp every Hutt in the galaxy was too good and I forgot where I was.
"Y-yes… sorry. I was just having a moment contemplating the implications behind what you said. Continue on." I said and Rathari nodded, I pushed aside the nerd in me that was on overdrive thinking up everything I could do with this new development. Soon… soon I shall create a Lantern Corp. No! not now… need to focus.
"It was told to the public that the Valyrians created their swords using the fires of the Dragons, that was not the case." Rathari then began to explain the various means and powers that they had found to be needed to create Valyrian Steel. The primary two things needed was to use the Force to fold the metal, this would infuse the power of the Force into the very core of the blade and the other was to use Force Lightning drawn out by power and power alone, not the Dark Side, when actually forging the metal. Force Lightning was not inherently a Dark Side ability, it was just most often used by the Dark Side as a power source. It could be created with just the Force and one's own willpower though it was much harder to do so. "But the true power of the Force Swords made this way was only discovered in the days leading to the end of our civilization."
"True power?" I asked and was giddy at the prospect at whatever this was. The Valyrians it turns out were just what I needed. A group of people capable in the Force to create a bunch of new powers and Force uses. Maybe due to the fact both the Sith and Jedi had been using the same old powers for so long we began to think that was all the Force could do. Even experiments into the Force on the Sith side were always within the confines of what we already knew, expected, or believed possible. Stupid… but then again… they never had a mind full of memories of anime, comics, and cartoons to draw inspiration from.
"In the hands of a normal man or woman…" Rathari glanced over to Tommen who had for the most part of the conversation been staring at the starship trying to understand what it was but also listening in and out of our conversion. It all seemed to be going over his head though. "The blades are of the highest quality. Sharper than any natural blade and forever kept at that peak by the fact every Valyrian Blade as a thin layer of the Force coating the blade, maintaining it in a perfected state."
"But that is in the hands of a non Force User, in the hands of a Force user?"
"It becomes their sword, it becomes an extension of their very soul… provided they use it long enough. The weapon will become attuned to the specific person's connection with the Force and with mediation and training, can take on the strongest aspect of a person's inner soul and exert itself over the blade." It was then that Rathari looked at my swords again and I ah'ed at what he must have thought.
"Midwan and Saarai are both not Valerian blades but I am beginning to think they are comparable." I said as I drew both of them and held them in the air with the Force. Since arriving in Valyria they had been completely silent. No arguing with each other or reaching out to me for attention. Midwan just wanted me to cut and kill something, keep it coated in blood and gore. Meanwhile Saarai was the opposite, it wanted me to keep it clean all the time and spend time doing so. "Why is it you do not have one of these swords?" I asked and Rathari scowled.
"I never took one, I had always been suspicious of the Valyrians. Did my best to learn all I could, know your enemy as well as yourself. Others thought me paranoid but I did not care." He said and I could tell he was trying to hide the pride that he felt for the fact he ended up being right in the end. "And that proved useful when the Valyrians began tampering with the chain of volcanoes under Valyria. Thinking they could turn them into a power source with Force Powers. Many of the Valyrians had come to the conclusion that magic was more useful than technology, and so rejected our plans for geothermal plants."
"Foolish, as much as I like to hear that the Valyrians expanded what we knew the Force could do, science is still far superior when it comes to large scale works. The incorporation of the Force can be used but a firm understanding of science and using it as the foundation should always come first." Magic, and the Force was magic, would always be far more unpredictable than technology which was by definition a science and science was predictable by its own definition. "And so the Doom was caused by them messing about with a super volcano?"
"Yes, But first came the proposal to implement the Valyrians' theories and plans was what caused a sudden revolt in the Valyrian nobility against us the still remaining Imperial rulers. We were not in great numbers but we had the Droids and access to the military assets in the Titan's Shield. With those and the experienced Sith we were able to maintain a grip on the political power here in Valyria." Rathari explained and I could finish the unsaid conclusion to that. It lasted until Valyria grew to a point where the nobility could extend their power in places that the Imperials couldn't. The Free Cities and the old Ghiscari lands. There the Valyrians built up power and eventually thought themselves above the ones that ruled them. Ironic given the history of Valyria. "The revolt started one day and ended by night. The Valyrians charged the spire towers where we lived, and slaughtered anyone they found. It was thought that if they had ever tried this our Droids would take the brunt of the assault and the Sith would finish the rebels off… the Valyrians however had made a deal with the outcasts I had mentioned earlier."
"The ones that left for the west, they gave the Valyrians the access codes to the Droids." Rathari nodded and I was going to have to pay a visit to the Land of Always Winter as apparently there are some very important people there. Something to do in a few years.
"Yes, the droids shut down and we were defenseless and caught off guard. And instead of standing their ground, most of the Sith fled. Either down into the tunnels or escaped on their own dragons to lands far from here." Interesting… I highly doubt any non-Sith could possibly have survived but there might be one or two Sith that were part of the True Followers that could extend their lives out to still be kicking. They would be far from their prime and could have just as likely died from some other means. But the possibility was still out there. "Once I had heard that my so-called peers had turned on us, I followed them to the tunnels. As I took my first step off the lift that was connected to my spire I felt the ground shake."
"They pissed off the volcano, deciding that they won and did the exact thing they were told not to do that also started the revolt. Likely wanted it to be some sort of celebration for casting off their shackles… even more irony upon a mountain of irony." I rolled my eyes at the plots of the Valyrians. Pride and hubris, that was before this empire. As did it happen so many other times, the idea that one knew better when they didn't brought ruin upon all.
"Yes, and it wasn't the biggest problem we were facing. That would be the Time Ritual that was being conducted." Oh no… please don't tell me they did the one thing that most Jedi and Sith know not to touch. Time was something that was very taboo within both orders, seeing into the future was perfectly fine given that it wasn't really messing with it. One could only peer into the possible futures and then use the Force to try and pick out the one most possible. Completely different than actively altering time.
"It seems that the Valyrians weren't the only ones tainted with hubris." I glanced back at the Terminus Class Destroyer, I needed to be careful to not fall to the same trap. While I have a greater knowledge on both this world and the Galaxy at large thanks to my meta knowledge, I knew that the more I did on this world the more it would change. And already much of what I knew about the Galaxy was proving to be useless. "Clearly something went very wrong with the ritual."
"It was originally supposed to reset this world to one day prior. This would give the Sith the chance to change out the codes on the Droids and preemptively strike at the traitors. However, upon learning what the Valyrians had done they knew that the caves would eventually collapse before the ritual would be completed. They decided to change course in the middle of the ritual."
"There was no one in the True Followers was that monumentally stupid!" I screamed and my voice echoed all across the chamber and had enough force behind it to cause parts of the ruined star ship to creek loudly. Rathari flinched at my words and I could sense he was very fearful of me right now, understandable because I was super pissed. Force Rituals were something that should never be attempted unless you were absolutely sure you wanted the outcome they were going to bring. Changing that outcome even for a second would throw it all into chaos. "What. Happened?" I growled and Rathari shrunk from my looming shadow, the air grew as heavy as the starship nearby as my rage leaked out.
"Madness… doom. That is what happened. Valyria had an abnormally high number of people born with the Force. And during the eruption of the volcano chain thousands of people died, a great many of them Force Users. This sudden loss of life, life that had a great connection to the Force caused a Wound in the Force to form. But worse than that, this wound was dragged into the Time Ritual and caused it to run rampant, turning the Sith and any remaining Force Sensitive Valyrians into the husks that you no doubt encountered. I had found Balance and so was able to wrap myself in the Light Side and protect myself from the effects of the Wound. But not the Ritual." Rathari explained and I calmed a bit down. Not because I was hearing good things, but I was hearing facts and things that could be dealt with. A Wound in the Force could be fixed, if it was a person just kill it, if it was an object then just destroy it. Places were tricky, but this wasn't a planet or something that was intentionally seeped in the Dark Side. It could be fixed… hopefully. "Time will not move forward here, anything alive stays as it is when it arrives. The Force keeps them as they are until the day comes that it refills the life that was lost."
"Possible… but unlikely." I said as I looked past Rathari and toward the caves behind him. "I assume the nexus of the Wound is the ritual site?"
"Yes my lord, but I would not-"
"Take me there."
Author's Notes
lots of set up here, and next chapter will be all the conclusion to Valyria. Naraiz will have a big fight, discover secret powers, and start pulling some stupidly crazy Force stuff out his ass.
Please leave a Review and follow and favorite this story
Reviews
MrBogus - sorry, this is a Lion that Naraiz can't contain and would likely cause massive headaches that our Sith boi wouldn't want
DylanTheDemon - that's not a flame as that is a real critique. I know that action scenes are a weak point of mine and I hope that next chapter will be a good one.
Reviewer - nope, that's how they say it in Westeros. the poor people just use single digit number together like that for bigger numbers. It's also a cultural thing as even educated nobles do it.
Hiei-Uchiha - The entire harem thing is mostly because Naraiz had been a massive womanizer before I fused with him, and I like harem anime too much. So with those combined it ended being what we see before us. its also a small joke on the MMO The Old Republic in that your character can bang NPCs all the time... ah Bioware. But... that doesn't mean I might give someone else a small harem. Jon? Anny? who knows. As for Benjen, its as I have said before, I want to give lesser seen characters their time to shine.