The Dark Academy on Korriban

"Well... yes."

Moyr pursed her lips in an expression that was equal distance between wryness and pensiveness.

"I defied her before others. She knew about our raid of the Restricted Tombs, wanted to know what we had found. I lied to her face about it without flinching, and she couldn't catch me on it. I didn't want her to know about you holding Hazzan's holocron or what we learned from it... Then Zeno stepped out and spilled all the beans, in an apparent attempt to suck up to her. Then she decided to punish me by hurting Baes, and Zeno jumped in to take the damn electric charge... the weird guy he is. She said she would make me suffer in due time for making her look weak."

Sylvain shook his head in shared disapproval for Zash's and Zeno's actions.

"No one makes someone look weak that isn't already weak. She did that herself." He replied.

"What can I do to help? I've made Baras aware of Zash's actions... but perhaps Hazzan has more answers for the immediate future than Baras does."

He thought back on the things he had learned from Hazzan.

"Hazzan had mentioned that the ritual would eventually lead to her own destruction... that it is a dangerous process, that when interrupted can be uncontrollable. And that she would need to recharge herself frequently...."

Moyr nodded, smiling with a hint of warmth... and cruelty directed at the obvious target.

"He could give us a hint when she would be weakest and most distracted. How to recognise her weariness, hunger. How to accelerate the process of her degradation. Those kinds of things."

He pulled the holocron from his robes, "Shall we ask?"

She checked if the door were locked and commlinks turned off.

"We shall."

Closing his eyes he called upon the force to coax the holocron into activating itself.

He had gotten quite use to this by now and it happened rather quickly.

“I am needed, how can I help you?” Hazzan says with serenity.

"Good evening again Master Hazzan." He bowed slightly.

"I regret to inform you that your earlier Holicron has been discovered, and its ritual enacted by a Sith Master of our day. We wish to know more about it's self-destructive tendencies and the nature of the Darkside power that enables it. Anything that could be helpful in her defeat would be most appreciated."

Moyr did not intercede, putting confidence in Syl handling that. She also remembered Hazzan was unnerved by speaking to several people at once.

Hazzan is quiet and then says, "Destroy the creature, that would be my recommendation. Such high concentration of Dark Side energy will feed on itself and they will need to find other ways to sustain themselves. Perhaps they could do the ritual again, but doubtful, they will have to find more extreme methods to sustain themselves."

"What alternative methods exist?" He asked.

"Do you know about the Black Vault, Master Hazzan? Beneath the palace of Ajunta Pall, in the Undercorft? Is this what led you onto the track to develop the ritual?"

Moyr decided to intercede.

“I do not know it but it was inspiration by means of mythology. There are many Sith legends of ancient rituals to gain power; some of the more popular are simple sacrifice but there was one rather incredulous claim that through proper attunement to the Dark Side one could sacrifice all life on a world to gain great power. Surely any such act would concentrate so much dark side energy that whatever remains would no longer be a living thing of this world,” Hazzan replies.

“There are tales of soul transference or utilizing Rakatan technology to simply steal life energy, these tend to be more myth that real. Of course there may be truth to them, but I do not know them.”

"We would like to theoretically retrace all your inspirations and the process of formulating the ritual, Master Hazzan. Perhaps we'll find a clue how to compromise it, and the monster it creates. This way we can perhaps finish what your apprentice did not let you, to effectively counter or even reverse the perversion. The Sith Lord that champions the ritual now will stop at nothing, and she's apt in discovering ancient secrets. The unspeakable ones you've just mentioned are what she may try to claim one day. We need to be several steps ahead of her."

Moyr argued with conviction.

“I will do what I can, it is in the best interest of all life to end such a threat as quickly as we ae able,” he responds with a nod. He begins a lengthy explanation of his journeys and how he came to learn of the ritual, it began on Korriban but he learned of the ritual on Nal Hutta, he provides coordinates. From there he followed a path across the stars to many different worlds gathering power not so much for the ritual but just general Sith power mongering it was only when he returned to Korriban an old man that he decided to attempt the ritual only to see the cost was too high and reflect on his life and then wander into the deserts.

He spoke with a crazed heretic and they fought for days but in the end they chose to go their own paths. He returned to his apprentice assured of his new path and was betrayed.

"This hermit you spoke with, was his name Spindral?" He asked a slightly tangential question.

"I do not recall, possibly," Hazzan says.

He chuckled, "I'll have to ask him when I see him."

Then he turned to Moyr, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

"This is enough for this time, I think."

She agreed.

"Thank you, Master Hazzan."

"Yes, thank you." Sylvain said and closed out the Holocron once Hazzan had his opportunity to bid farewell.

"That wasn't as helpful as I hoped. But there are leads that can be followed."

Moyr commented, sighing.

Sylvain nodded, "I'm sorry it couldn't be of more use... I've talked to him quite a bit, but ultimately he doesn't appear to have a lot of useful knowledge. Unless you don't want to be a Sith anymore."

"I can't imagine myself being anything else, Syl. I may become my own Sith, but a Sith nonetheless. My passions and drives constitute me, without them there is not much left, a pretty husk. Perhaps this is the reason I could not truly connect with him."

She gestured toward the holocron.

He smiled, "His view is slightly different actually. He believes in a more balanced view of the force. There are times where passion and force can be used control our actions, but then there are times when things need to be persuaded or coaxed into doing what is best."

He shrugged, "It's an interesting perspective... We're not all of any one thing... We are what we choose to utilize and it influences who and what we become."

"So you are a proponent of balance in the Force as well? Ever walking in the grey?"

She perked up, leaning toward him attentively. It could be cute if her expression was not so serious and scrutinising.

...

Okay, it was alluring anyway.