The Rise of Lord Dustine (IC if present, OOC otherwise)

The noetikon flickered to life a calm and stoic Exyda flashes from the projection, she pauses a moment looking off center "The Rise of Lord Dustine…breaking of my final chain" she begins to narrate in detail the events of the week prior to her becoming a Lord.
 
Trial of Skill
 
 
Darth Rok'atsa broke communicator silence summoning Exyda to one of his planets, arriving she finds the Darth and his apprentice speaking with the Captain of the Guard, who informs the group that an exiled Sith Lord and said lord's apprentice have escaped holding and fled to a nearby planet. The Darth and Exyda depart while the Darth's apprentice continues investigation of the prison.
 
The dropship buzzes close to the former property of a Darth Venator, pausing the Darth indicates this is where Exyda will enter, she moves with purpose as she jumps down to the structure and begins a preliminary scan of the area finding dozens of droids freshly destroyed, the hot steel still emanating saber burns, she draws her saber igniting it and moving forward expecting confrontation soon.
 
Oh her approach she felt the presence of eight being, reaching out she pulled on their bonds of hatred, corrupting them and funneling their hatred - she planned for this to cause in fighting and chaos she could move through or turn against her targets, but her power backfired as they all raised their weapons at her as she entered the threshold of the bulkhead. Quickly reaching out predicting a fire fight she grasp hold of their life force and poisoned it, ripping their life from their bodies as her plague of rage washed over them.
 
Six civilians dropped to the ground in a chorus of cries and pain, coming to their aid were two armored guards, more of a threat another soon to be casualty of Exyda's - these men weep for their friends before turning their attention to Exyda, firing a grappling hook at her, dragging her across the room to them, their rage brutish as one slammed her to the ground overpowering her with his shoulder. Her retaliation equal in kind as she grasp and plummeted the ceiling fixtures upon the top of them, crushing one instantly, the other rolling out of the way barely quick enough. The fought, she pushed and pushed upon the beast of a man before her as she tried to invade his mind he retorted:
"Implant, you stupid Sith, the Master has taught me how to fight your kind.." as he tapped the temple of his head.
 
She lashed out again and again, taking strike after strike, getting electrified by a shot dart, the back of her knee cut, her pain and anger storming within her. The opponent faltered and crumpled before her as his combat stim wore off and his body fell victim to the trauma - within that moment another appeared behind her.
 
He spoke her name as if she would be expected to know his voice, she didn't, they exchanged few informalities before the other apprentice leap towards her sending forth a saber swarm upon her defenses, the fight continued on in a flurry of clashes and strike both taking their share of cuts and burns from the sabers, that is until Exyda broke his defense with a final swift saber swarm of her own - she struck down at his wrist, he parried, across his ribcage, he side stepped, she tumbled around behind him driving her saber up to the brain-stem of the apprentice, he fell - dead.
 
She would receive no rest in this endeavor as no sooner did the apprentice thud against the floor the exiled Lord, with his heavy armor, would stand at the top of the stairs proclaiming:
 
"Apprentice Exyda have you come to honor our former Master?" she retorted "You honor a traitor and a man worth nothing" her words glancing over the man's resolve as his eyes traveled down to the shamelessly dead apprentice in front of her "… well unfortunately you will have to die for…" as he leap across the chamber at Exyda, slamming his blade upon her left shoulder carving a part of it away, she screamed in pain quickly redirecting it outward toward the Lord, her efforts fruitless time and time again her strikes parried and redirect back at her, until the Lord's chest exploded out towards her as a green bolt pierced it ricocheting off the wall behind Exyda, collapsing before her revealed Darth Rok'atsa stood upon the stairs.
 
"Arrest her"
 
 
He demanded. Her anger, had begun to quell, as she withdrew it to her inner reserves but upon hearing the demand her storm raged again 'Arrest? I did the task you sent me on'; 'Ah this was the game you sought to play'; 'Why would -you- betray me, I did this for you'; her mind in flux her emotions a storm but for the first time in her life - that chaos - felt warming to her, she finally began to understand comfort -in the storm- was the purpose not a valve to control the flow. She uttered a simple sentence as she was cuffed and her shoulder packed in first aid supplements
"…perhaps I should have been more suspicious of your 'gifts'…"
 
Trial of Insight
 
 
She spent two days in the red glowing cell, starving but not dying, her focus ebbed and flowed through her consciousness, her only respite was focused meditation, exploring the new potency of her emotions that Darth Rok'atsa cemented in her forethought. Her meditation was interrupted by a figure in patchwork armor, pieces of their conquests worn upon them as a grim reminder that awakes those in her way. The two spoke, Exyda had conveyed her perspective of the events leading to her arrest, a disjointed "You've convinced me" was offered from the other, almost as if -any- answer would have been sufficient. Exyda's mistrust of this individual grew, as the figure deactivated the cell.
"Besides I have use for you… just us girls…"
 
The two approached the guards, the Exyda's savior, beseeching the guards for Exyda's saber. "Darth Razia, this isn't protocol" they resisted, to no avail Razia quipped back "I don't care, it's happening, if the other Darth has an issue, they can take it up with me…". Reluctantly the guards handed over the saber of the apprentice, and the two Sith departed. Aboard Razia's shuttle, Exyda ate like royalty, as no luxury was sparred - their journey was two days long, arriving at their destination the task was explained "…infiltrate the base, find out what the apprentice inside knows, subdue them and we will get to the bottom of this". Exyda marched along the beach, evading at first a nexu sunbathing, continuing she planted mental sublimations in each guard along the way, tricking them, either through effective use of the force, or just offering the slight nudge out of bored the guards carried. She made it into the inner sanctum without anyone being non-the-wiser, rounding the corner she saw a young Sith pureblood, adorn in spiked armor.
"Have you come to die by my hand" the Pureblood barked.
 
Exyda looked over the other apprentice, humming she retorted, as she drew - but did not ignite - her saber "Has he abandoned you here as well?" she quipped, the pureblood took hold of the bait in a near instantaneous rage, they exchanged simple taunts a moment in their spar, until hearing enough Exyda reached out with the force, grasping hold of the other's spiked collar, fully intent to choke her out, but the armor and its weak construction - or perhaps Exyda's own rage - moved through the armor with little resistance, a spike snapping off, piercing the purebloods throat. Instantly a surge of emotions rained upon Exyda. Fear - she had failed a task, again; Guilt - another lashing of Incompetence; Doubt - did she intent that, did she realize that would happen? Pity - How weak was this girl she would die so quickly? She asked once "Where is he? Where is Venator?" spurting an answer out as she drowned in the blood gushing forth the pureblood simply uttered:
 
"…I… don't know… he sent me here… I've been searching for him…"
 
 
The words shook Exyda to her core - another apprentice, abandoned, and trampled by the rage Venator's abandonment festered, she could die so easily… she had just killed a mirror of herself - and now she realized it. She saw what twisted stagnation in pursuit of her former master would lead to, she saw clearly what her fate truly was. She turned and began to download the records from the computer terminal. Within moments, the cries and screams of pain and terror rang out from the rest of the compound, followed by an eerily satisfied laughter, as silence followed Darth Razia marched in the room where Exyda was downloading the data, glanced at the dead apprentice, then to Exyda "…I take it she didn't have much to say?" , Exyda paused a moment before she answered a short, and empty "No", looking down to the terminal, a tear streamed down Exyda's face. Razia watched her quietly a moment "Come, you can study the records on the shuttle back to Corbos"
 
Trial of Sacrifice
 
 
She boarded the shuttle, it was empty and silent, its silence deafening to Exyda as now there was nothing but the haunting words the pureblood had gurgled as her own eulogy. The realization of the lie she had told herself, the lie she so unequivocally believed outright, the weight of her mistake, of her incompetence bore upon her shoulders and soul as if it was she that was drowning, but she had learned so recently comfort in this feeling of unbridled and overwhelming emotion, she moved to the cockpit to ensure the autopilot and course were correct, doing a very quick sense if she was truly alone - she sat down in the lounge and wept. She picked up the data pad in her grief and filed through the entries reading every personal log of the unnamed apprentice. She found only evidence to condemn her own actions further in the tribunal of herself - hundreds of logs showing a call out from the dead apprentice, signaling to Venator her mission was complete, with no response; dozens of unique identifiers of other apprentices of Venator signaling their own 'missions' complete, and they awaited Venator. She knew now what she was to Venator - disposable - she had made an entire purpose, existence on getting her revenge on the Darth for abandoning her, but she wasn't special, she was just the most recent in his ploy to cast a final chain upon his apprentices, assuring they would never ascend, never surpass him. She tossed the data pad at the table in front of her, disgusted. As the data pad skipped across the table and on to the floor, it activated, playing an entry in the Pureblood's voice:
 
"Entry 402 - I…I think I've found him… I can finally get what he had promised me, and complete my training…"
 
A palpable enjoyment and purpose echoed through the empty shuttle, cutting down upon Exyda's ears, driving her new found resolve, she pulled the data pad to her and began to delete all the data regarding the other apprentices, she paused as the 'Confirm deletion of all records?' flashed before her. She could redeem them, she -could- bring them back to the Empire, she knew their anger would be potent; she looked down at the data pad "No" she said out loud for herself. Those betrayed by Venator have become consumed and poison by their rage, that is something no one save themselves could ever solve - she decided then and there - she would be break the chain he had on her, the temptation, the pull, the distraction these apprentices would have on her. She reached out crushing the data pad with the force, destroying it outright.
 
She hummed as she pulled herself back into a meditative state, humming she rode highs and lows of the emotions she felt so potently, refusing to suppress or constrain them, only directing where they flowed, where they took her thoughts. Somehow she ended up shifting to a white empty dreamscape, a bright white blinding her eyes, she doubted if she was dreaming this - her meditations never took such a manifestation. A shadowed figure marched forward, shifts and morphing its shape as it approached her, before her stood Venator, or so she believed until he spoke, its voice so obviously not Venator's, she looked over the figure "Who are you?" she beckoned "What truth is it you seek?" it offered, she was taken aback a moment, she thought "Who is manipulating me?" the other looked at her a moment "I am the Gatekeeper and I can show you the truth you seek" it paused again absorbing her question -
 
"You are - surely there is a lot going on around you and to you, but is it all circumstance of your own actions - Darth Rok'atsa saw your hatred of Venator and used you to further his own goals. Darth Razia, saw what potential existed and twisted you towards the same target… for what ends? That remains to be seen."
 
Exyda remains quiet for a while before uttering a "Fuck them" she was over the games, the others manipulating her and trying to bind her in a chain one after another - she was so completely and utter done with it. She knew the Code, but she never understood how to get there - a lesson from Percovaun had finally permeated her personal philosophy - 'Choice'. It was always her choice and hers alone - she had chosen to let them control her, maybe not openly or readily admitting it to herself, but she chose to let fester a blinding hatred, she had chosen to swear to remove Venator's name from the Empire, she had done those, blind to the consequences, blind to the reality that she had manufactured her own weakness and ultimately what could be her own death. She was so disgusted with herself, how could she be so naïve, and so pathetic - no wonder the others used her as a pawn. The gatekeeper echoed "Remember it is the Sith way of life to take advantage of opportunities" , she had wondered if the Gatekeeper knew what was in her mind, as she just realized she couldn't be mad at the Darth's, they weren't the incompetent ones, her thoughts drifted towards her mistakes, once again the Gatekeeper echoed in response to her forethought "A Sith that lives in the past, dies in the present" she was furious with herself, she barked "Let me out of this" and as simple as that she was back in the lounge of the shuttle, the nav computer beeping signaling she had reached Corbos. She looked down at the table, a holocron hummed as it deactivated, a small note fell out of it "Return this to me when you are down - Ira"
 
Trial of Ascension
 
She left the shuttle, opening her communicator "Lord Wrath, I've found something that I believe belongs to you…" she broke through the silence of the channel. Ira instructed Exyda to meet her at the Gazebo on the Academy grounds, and she obliged. Exyda took the holocron from her bag and offered it to Ira, Ira taking it from her asked "…I assume it was helpful?", Exyda hummed her response "It was… showed me the truth about myself and has given me a new sense of freedom". The two conversed in front of multiple members of the Council, Exyda proclaiming "That I've seen the errors of the my hatred, and I refuse to be beholden to those chains that would shackle me, and I will become what I am destined to" intrigued Ira raised an eyebrow and asked "Which is what?"
 
"Lord Dustine" Exyda stated, Ira offered a slight smirk, Sacrisi bared a fanged grin, almost in excitement, few others present had a reaction, at that moment.
 
Ira stated "As you have no Master to ascend, and I am 'Her' weapon, I will test your worth, come" Exyda moved into the clearing between the Hex Arena and the Gazebo, following Ira, she looked at Ira a moment before she grabbed her saber ingited it, as she hastened her movement towards the Wrath, spiraling, jumping and tumbling, she cleared the distance between the two in a blink of the eye, feigning a strike over the Wrath's shoulder she spiraled down, reaching out with the force pulling the left leg of Ira towards Exyda's palm. A soft clink emanated from Exyda's wrist as a steel blade erupted forth into the leg of Ira. Ira, not appreciative of the surprise, grabbed Exyda and slammed her into the ground, cracking the stone, offering a follow up slam of her fist at Exyda's ribcage, she missed as Exyda pushed off Ira's shins to fly backwards out of the path of the strike, launching a bolt of electricity towards Ira across the plaza, as she spit out a mouthful of blood. Ira still not amused, outstretched her left arm, letting the lightning ravage her skin, as she redirected it through her body - unleashing a magnified arc back at Exyda. Exyda offered a barrier to deflect the blast, while effective it still pushed her back, as the charged licked her skin wrapping around the barrier - Exyda leapt at Ira, in a furiously elegant Falling Leaf, landing to the right of Ira, she slashed around Ira, aiming for shoulders, torso, and legs. Ira foregoing some defense for her next maneuver was struck in the stomach by Exyda's saber in a glancing blow - Ira launched up in the air bring down a forceful strike upon Exyda from above. For the first time, in all the times she had seen and faced Ira's Falling Avalanche, she stood fast, bringing her blade up to meet Ira's has hard as she could, she had some level of success, stopping the blades movement, but not the full weight of the Wrath's power as she buckled under the force her right knee bending and slamming into the stone, shattering both. She let out a growl, as she pivoting around striking at Ira, moving her broken knee away from Ira's direct assault. Ira decide this was enough, seizing Exyda's right arm - the one responsible for cutting Ira at the onset of the fight - barring it and snapping it and the blade in half over her own knee. Exyda screamed in pain as her arm broke, her saber being too close to effectively strike at Ira, she thrust her saber hand towards Ira's stomach. Another soft clink warns Ira that there are two blades in play, able to move quickly enough deflecting the attack, the blade still sinks into Ira's left shoulder. Ira's response was definitive, she stomped down with all her might at Exyda's functional knee, Exyda sensed it and moved slight, but the heel of the strike now burst through Exyda's left shin, bursting the bone through the skin. Exyda had dropped to her knees swimming in visible pain as it surged across her face.
"So much for that new found freedom" Ira uttered to Exyda.
 
Exyda locked her eyes on Ira's, pushing her body past any limit, now to prove a point more than anything she pulled her right leg out from under her, planted it, and began to shift her body weight to it, growling and muffling her screams of pain as she began to slowly rise.
"Tenacity and cunning…."
 
Ira spoke before she swung a final strike at Exyda, who managed to glance the blow with a quick instinctual reaction however, did not avoid it outright, the force of which still tremendous as it sent Exyda's head down to the stone, in an unceremonious thud.