A means to an end

“We are making our final descent onto Taanab. We hope you enjoyed your stay with us.”

‘These public shuttles are all the same’ Raistlin thought to himself as he stood amidst all of the beings upon the transport. He never carried too much, only the essentials. Weapon, armor, credits, anything else was a luxury. Raistlin’s pale skin glinted in the sunlight as they finally landed on the planets surface. ‘Finally’ Raistlin thought, ‘get me away from all of these disgusting creatures’.

Like ants coming out of their home, the inhabitants of the shuttle poured out into the docking bay. Raistlin walked with ease, keeping his focus on his task at hand. It had been a few weeks since he had heard about Taanab. All he knew was that it was a school or academy for beings who had interest in learning about the force. Thinking back, Raistlin remembered the day he had heard about the academy.

The sabaac tables inside of the dingy tavern seemed unpromising. Raistlin knew he needed some action, something to keep him occupied while he waiting for his host to arrive. As Raistlin sat in a dimly lit corner of the bar he watched as the protocol droid took his order and left. After a few minutes the silver skinned droid returned and placed the drink upon his table, being courteous the whole time. Raistlin waved a hand and the droid left.

:After about half an hour:

Pulling a out the chair across from Raistlin, the old man who called himself Tik took a seat. The two men knew each other for some time. As they talked about past times and had a few laughs it was time to get down to business.

“The answers you seek are on a planet called Taanab. It is an academy for students but there has been rumors of strange things happening. Disappearances and things of that nature. If you can survive whatever lay inside, I believe you can exact your revenge on the men who did this to you”. What Tik was talking about was the markings that were etched over Raistlin’s pale white skin. He did not know the meaning, yet, but knew it was some ritual that had been performed. Leaving his face deformed and his body looked like something out of a horror story.

Snapping back into reality Raistlin continued to walk along the concrete path that looked like it had been laid centuries ago. Cracks and weeds had grown through showing the age of the planet. After walking for what seemed like half a day he finally came to stand before two humongous doors. After waiting for so long, Raistlin knew he was that much closer to his revenge, that much closer to killing everyone he loathed.

"I am so, so sorry to interrupt you, Chancellor. There is a man outside the gates."

Blue eyes peeled themselves from the datapad screen and looked at the comm unit fixed upon the desktop with an accusing glare is if the device itself could reveal the need for such an intrusion.

"What of it."

His eyes returned to the datapad, upon which was an interactive anatomic diagram of a human body. With the press of a finger he could focus it upon something as general as an entire bodily system or as narrow as an individual muscle. Each category was loaded down with numerous notes displayed in crystal clear aurabesh letters. Adjustments had been made to various systems, organs, bones, and muscles. What may have once been human was clearly not so to the educated eye. It had become something else entirely. Shifts in the standard paradigm so simple and yet it would alter the function of the whole by drastic proportions. It was, like most of his work, purely theoretical.

"He appears to be on foot, sir."

The revelation made his stop and consider the statement. Pandath was not far, but on foot it was a long stretch of road that went on for some distance before eventually running to the city of Belarou. There was very little along the way except for the rolling hills and farms that Tanaab was famous for. Hardly anything anyone would consider... civilized. It would take a dedicated individual, or a fool, to shirk the comfort of a taxi to the fortress school in exchange for a grueling trek. Ezra would decide for himself which of the two this individual was.

"If he is a beggar then give him a meal. He's earned that much. However, if he's looking for enrollment then send him to my office."

Leaves blew across the ground, the wind whistling through the trees as the sunlight started to fade from the day. With a loud boom the two ornate doors the Raistlin stood in front of opened up. As Raistlin peered into the darkness of the fortress he could see a figure walking towards him. The newcomer came to a hault a few meters away from where Raistlin stood.

“This way”

Raistlin followed without question. As they walked through the corridors of the building, Raistlin noticed all manner of ornate tapestries that lined the halls. The light was dim so some of the items were harder to see than others. After walking for about five minutes they had reached their destination.

The door to the Chamber opened. The courier motioned with one hand for Raistlin to enter. As the young man looked around all he could see was a figure sitting at a desk. Not knowing who this man was but knowing that he must have been of some importance. Nodding to the servant, Raistlin walked into the chamber.

The Tanaab Academy was renovated from the remains of an old Sith Stronghold dating back to the great war. The castle on a hill had been cleaned up and modernized. Dormitories and support structures added at the bottom and the wall around the whole structure giving scant privacy from the many prying eyes of the galaxy. At the very top, at the very pinnacle of the castle itself, was the offices of the teaching faculty. Students and teachers alike moved through the halls and across the grounds, the silver piping on their black uniforms catching the plentiful sunlight found on this agricultural world.

The frosted pane on the door to his office bore his name: Ezra Na'chtion, and below it his title of Chancellor. There was no higher authority to be found. The king waited in his castle, atop a throne behind a desk, and waited. The pale man was ushered into the bookshelf lined office. Clasping his hands in front of himself, his elbows on the desk, Ezra looked over the tops of his knuckles at the individual for a moment before lowering his hands, revealing his own youthful face.

"Hello, welcome to the Tanaab Academy. I am Chancellor Ezra Na'chtion. We saw you standing outside. Is there something we can help you with?"

Raistlin was taken aback. He had expected to see an old, withering man sitting in his throne looking out a window at his kingdom. What he saw was quite the opposite. It was of a youth. This man had to be very young, and for him to be sitting atop this throne of darkness was appealing to the pale skinned newcomer. Raistlin made his way over to the desk and without an invitation he took a seat in one of the lush leather chairs opposite this King. He folded his hands in his lap, never taking his eyes off of his new acquaintance.

"I am Raistlin. I know what you are Sith, and I am here to learn. Only with this power you hold in your hands am I granted the revenge that is rightfully mine."

Raistlin knew that he needed this power, yearned to learn this power. There were stories about the Sith. About how they were able to make even the most strongest of men bend to their will.

There was a moment of silence as beautiful blue eyes looked across at the pale man, with his scars and forward demeanor. It was a calculating look, one that was sizing him up, with heavy lidded eyes that showed little emotion. Ezra was hardly one to ever reveal what was transpiring inside his head. There was no panic button at his desk. He had no use, for he was never defenseless. His children were always near; both his acolytes and his beasts. He could feel the serpent hidden within his sleeve wrap tighter around his arm as it responded to his state of heightened awareness.

"That is quite an accusation to make, Mister Raistlin. We accept all kinds at this Academy. What they choose to do with their innate force powers, or what particular philosophy they choose, is for them and them alone to choose. We did not force any world view upon them, nor we do discriminate, and instead teach a varied curriculum. Likewise the teachers come from many walks of life, but I assure you that as a school we remain firmly neutral. It is an arrangement that makes this very institution possible. For you see, if we preached Jedi mantras the Imperial Knights would end us without hesitation, and if sith, real sith, roamed these halls you can be sure that the Jedi would intervene. Are there so called darksiders here? Indeed. As I said, we do not discriminate. Some students find solace in the peace of the so called light, while others bask in the emotional power of the so called dark side. Personally, I think those terms are archaic. The force is not so black and white."

"You seem a very driven man, Mister Raislin, to come all this way. For purely personal reasons, what is this revenge of yours? Perhaps I can be of some help."

Raistlin listened intently to the young man sitting across from him. His words seemed absurd. Raistlin knew what real evil was, what pain and suffering was. He was born of it when the marks upon his body were made. And he knew it when he saw it. It is not something that can be explained, only experienced. But no matter this conversation was not getting him what he truly wanted. What he truly desired in his cold black heart. Raistlin was growin impatient with this young man. He knew what he wanted and he would settle for nothing less.

"The only help I need from you is to be trained to weild this power that you posses. I will have my revenge on my own terms. The man I seek is the one who did this to me."

Raistlin removed his mask. Where his face had once been only a grotesque grief, horror stricken visage remained. His nose almost completely removed, his upper lip gone always bearing his rotted, gangly teeth. Scars wracked his face making whoever he was unnoticeable now. Raistlin replaced the mask upon his face once more.

"He knows nothing of pain, nothing of despair. But he will soon enough. I will have him begging for death before the end."

Reaching across his desk he grabbed a pile of flimsis and shuffled them together, working until they were corner perfect before setting them back down on the desk. The peek beneath the mask was intriguing, but it was hardly a new story. The Sith Order was once filled with damaged goods with stories of abuse, broken bodies, and damaged psyches. They were the easily swayed to the darkside, brought low by the promise of power and vengeance. Some of his own acolytes were similar cases, but hardly so drastic. They came from positions of comfort, the children of Senators, Generals, and the Imperial Military Complex. They were the unloved, the beaten, and the lonely. They hated the galaxy that turned a blind eye to their abuse and with the Sith Order they found a new home.

Something to belong to.

"If you are looking for training in the ways of the force, than you have come to the correct place, Mister Raistlin. The Tanaab Force Academy is devoted to teaching the once archaic and sometimes mysterious aspects of the force. In these halls men, women, and children learn how to harness their innate abilities. Unlike the defunct Jedi Order we do not limit our students based on their age, although I will admit that with anything it is easier to begin as a child. Still, there is no wrong or right student. Everyone is capable even if their limitations differ greatly. Not every graduate will be able to lift a starfighter, but they will have a concrete knowledge of the theory and use of the Force, even if they are a weak conduit of it."

"It's hardly my place to say, but I would recommend you see a doctor. Dying from an infection is hardly the path I would imagine you desire. If you like, we have medical facilities on hand and I myself as quite adept at repairing tissue damage. I am a healer, of sorts. Not in the usual way, I must add. I don't restore them back to how they were. You could say that I take things and make them better."

"I need no doctor. I need power." Raistlin stood to full attention in the room, his large muscular frame towering over the younger man.

"You make things better? Show me"

Ezra did not flinch, rather all he did was raise his chin ever so slightly to maintain eye contact with the stranger as he rose. The man's attempt at intimidation, here in Ezra's ource of power, was laughable at best. However, he managed to contain himself and merely smile in return.

'I assure you, Mister Raistlin, that intimidation will get you nowhere. Nor threats or bribes; that is unless you are offering me exactly the sum of the cost of enrollement. There are many competent force users within these walls, moments away, some in the very next office. You would never leave this facility alive if an altercation was provoked. And should you prove incredibly resourceful, we are on incredibly good terms with the local government and the space port, singular, would be shut down before you could board a vessel. So please, let us not embarrass ourselves anymore."

"Let me offer you this, I have a close companion here at the Academy. She's far more agreeable than I, and undoubtably would be capable of giving a better response for the services that you seek. Would you like to meet with her? I can arrange such a meeting forthwith."

Raistlin listened to the man, knowing full well the implications of his actions.

"I am not threatening you. I understand how places like this works" Raistlin said lifting his hands and looking around. "I know full well that there have probably been security camera's watching me since I entered. Probably guards on every entrance into this room waiting. I did not come here to die, rather I came here to actually start to live."

"That is fine, schedule the meeting." Raistling tossed a data pad onto the desk. The screen displayed coordiantes and a comm number. "Here is where I am staying, and this is how you can contact me. I will await this meeting."

Kneeling in her typical meditative pose, Sianna delved deeply into the flowing power of the universe. Since leaving Aargau, the Echani priestess had learned from many powerful individuals, both alive and long dead. Her love of history and artifacts, the lithe female had collected plenty of items created by Sith Alchemy as well as other means - some now filling shelves in her private room afforded her by Ezra upon arrival.

As power created waves of goosebumps upon her pale skin, Sianna felt a wave of darkness flowing through the halls of the academy. Someone that had an agenda, though no training. Yet. Opening her senses to the office only a few doors down from the main meditation chamber, Sianna touched on the chancellor's mind and listened in on the conversation. This newcomer indeed wished for the very thing that Sianna strove for, though had to mute since arriving in the academy not a few months prior. It had taken everything for the priestess of the Sith'aria to learn to accommodate an outwardly neutral stance on the Force and life. But, the advantages of this newfound fount of potentials was well worth the trouble.

Catching the last comment made by Ezra, Sianna's voice permeated his surface thoughts. ~If you think he's worth our time, I'll speak with him now.~

I shall bring him to the catacombs...

The telepathic conversation was as he preferred it, short and to the point. He did not much like the intrusiveness of telepathy and would very much like to be alone within the confines of his own mind. Sianna is one of the few he would allow to communicate this way with him at all. It was a matter of necessity, and bending instead of breaking. He did not trust her, or anyone for that matter, but this was a method she preferred and Ezra had learned better than to chase everyone away with his vanity.

"She is ready to receive us now. Telepathic connections and communication is just one of the many aspects of the force that we teach within these walls. Come."

His instructions likewise were to the point. Rising from his chair he seceded his fortified position behind his desk and strode to the door. A strange sight to see the diminutive Chancellor leading the hulking adept, but not an uncommon sight within these halls. Most within the walls were of equal or greater height to him. He was, after all, a rather short man. His polished boots and neat uniform went far in created a more intimidating image despite the lack of height. Few would admit it openly, but it was something about his eyes that really put others off. The way he looked through you, as if you were not even there and he was focusing on the wall behind you.

As they walked Ezra gave a tour of sorts. Never stopping, even for a moment, but he did occasionally rattle of a tidbit of trivia about certain objects or pointed out what was behind a door, or down a hall. No different than the hundreds of tours he had given to interested students, and their parents usually. However, this tour was cut short when they arrived at the turbolift. There were many ways to access the secret catacombs beneath the castle. One such method was in his very office, but he was not about to reveal such a passage to this individual. Instead chose the turbolift, which closed as they stepped inside and began a downward descent without so much as a button pressed.

Students cannot be enticed by the secrets of a forbidden area if there is no forbidden area declared. An actual button would only invite the dangerously curious and reckless.

The lift went down for some time, and as they went deeper they passed, however momentarily, through what felt like a wave of static. For a brief moment their connection to the force was completely severed. There one moment and then gone the next, only to come back a moment later like nothing had happened. The feeling was sickening, like losing one's equilibrium. You mind stumbled and fought for the handhold the force had long provided. It was a necessary discomfort to hide the catacombs. Many prying minds have come to Tanaab, probably following the same rumors of Sith dealings that brought this Raistlin fellow to it's doors.

At last the doors opened, revealing a corridor cut into the very bedrock. Above the stone foundation of the castle lay exposed like a great beast. Ezra took the lead once more. The catacombs were lit with lights designed to replicate candles. Much cleaner that way and no need to hire a candle lighter. The catacomb lived up to it's name, with exposed tombs carved into the very walls and sarcophagi lined up along the ground. Power could be felt here, but not the world above. Like a bright light a beacon of darkside power burned at the far side of the catacombs. The Lady Frygt, matron of the Sith Order, lied entombed in the sepulcher. Her power gave them strength, like a sun to bask in.

The next chamber was large and empty, save for a raised dais with thrones upon it. As requested, the Lady Sianna waited there for them.

"Raistlin, this is Sianna, our resident... historian. Raistlin came to bang upon our gates, in broad daylight, and demand an audience with an cabal of Sith. Very well, Raislin. You have found us."