Resource The Stygian Library

[Dark Lady Makaria]

The Stygian Library​

IC: Apprentice Keres Dymos

The Stygian Library, Korriban


The library was hushed, either by the weight of over a hundred thousand tomes, or the sheer scale of the Sith’s knowledge. Keres’ hems swished around her feet, the sound hardly traveling. Books floated lazily back onto high shelves, low discussions audible but always out of sight. She passed that most ancient part of the library, with windows of tissue-thin marble, codexes and books and scrolls kept safe in climate-controlled settings.

Turning, she strode through another section, this one more obviously occupied, by archivists, and researchers, and those learning for their own means. Datapads made up the majority of shelves here, gleaming a dull red. Paper was regulated to a small section, such things in good condition that they could be handled. Most of it, she had checked, was in other languages, so others could translate directly from a primary source. It was, in general, the most used section of the library. Not to mention, the chairs and couches were significantly more comfortable than in the archives.



Turning down a short hallway which opened into a large room, Keres reached her destination at last. Light spilled through the skylights and high windows, making the room seem inordinately cosy. This was the area dedicated to the acolytes and apprentices. The shelves were full of datapads, with a few paper books and scrolls displayed under glass for them to marvel at.

The most imposing part of the room were the busts. The Duumvirate were carved into the finest larmal stone that could be found, their proud visages gazing down at the occupants from high pedestals. The Dark Council, in bronzium, sat at the end of aisles, reminding them of the heights they could reach, and those who had attained it.

This room contained histories, mission logs, biographies, manuals. Everything an aspiring apprentice or acolyte could need to advance themselves, and all the common texts a Master could send them scurrying to find. Quickly, she picked out the datapad she’d wanted and settled into a nearby chair.



---

OOC: this is a place for acolytes and apprentices to talk in a semi-formal academic space. Discuss favorite bits of lore, or places you’ve visited. Maybe a Master stops by to give everyone a discussion topic to debate on.

 

[corinthia]

For your admirable initiative and excellent idea that you brought fully to fruition, I am awarding you, Keres Dymos, 10 Prestige. Very well done.

- - -

A note on post formatting for new players: ​

On our forums, we have a standard format for in-character posts which make it easy for GMs to determine who is replying, and where they are. Please head all in-character posts with the following:

IC: Character Name
Your location

 

[G.Kn]

IC: Darth Skyllan
Location: The Stygian Library

~

It had been made known to Skyllan, that the library upon Korriban (or one of them anyway) had begun accepting submissions, so to speak. Now, the Dread Sorcerer made no claim to be a Loremaster of the Empire, they were hardly a foremost thinker in the field of academia - but they were *a* figure, and they did find themself knowing things. Tidbits that others might find useful, or helpful.

One such topic, was the Nightsisters, specifically their founder. Matriarch Gethzerion. A formidable practitioner to be sure, and given how the witches of dathomir were 'popular' with the Sith, Skyllan figured there may well be some who would appreciate this little drop of Lore. They had published it to the Empire's Databanks before of course, but a hard copy might see more use given the nature of some of the more archiac members of the Sith.

This is why Darth Skyllan found themself in the library, with a scroll to add to its shelves. The large s'kytri had been a frequent presence here as both an acolyte and an apprentice, and that had not changed much since those days. There was something humbling about sitting amongst the collected knowledge of literal ages of sith. They were quite sure they could spend their entire lifespan trying and never master all the knowledge that could be found within these walls. That being said, it wouldn't stop them trying.

So Skyllan picked out a scroll to settle in to read, as they left one of their own in its place. To help further the study of history in some of the Empire's newer members.

--------

Darkside Spotlight: Matriarch Gethzerion
Brought to you by Darth Skyllan

~

The name in question is Gethzerion, and she founded the Nightsisters of Dathomir. It is not often we can trace a lineage back to its source like this. It is certainly hard to do with the Jed'aii, the Sith, the Matukai and so on, though some of the Empire's Loremasters may disagree.

Nonetheless, we can with the Nightsisters. The group they spawned from was referred to as the Daughters of Allya. Gethzerion was the second oldest of four siblings, yet she alone was able to call upon the Force in truth, without the aid of their traditional rituals. A feat that had only been accomplished by two others in the clan's history.

Now, Nightsister was not originally a title of respect or power, it was a brand for those outcast from the clans for employing their abilities against the light-sided rules of the Book of Law. However, when Gethzerion was cast out for attempting to assassinate the Matriarch of the clan, alongside her co-conspirator Baritha, well. They had other ideas. The pair began gathering the Nightsisters into a clan of their own making.

As the Matriarch of the new Nightsister Clan, Gethzerion rose in power and influence. Effectively coming to rule the planet. She could summon Force Storms upon angry whims and had enough raw telekinetic power to slaughter a battalion of stormtroopers with ease. As well as their commanding officer. She is even recorded to have telepathic powers that stretched beyond her planet as a whole and into space.

Now, often when someone has particularly pioneered progress in a certain area, people will say they 'wrote the book' on the subject. This is not always true, but with Gethzerion it was. This Matriarch is responsible for the creation of the Book of Shadows. A Dathomarian artifact said to contain all of the spells and rituals of the Nightsisters.

Now, it is known that Matriarch Gethzerion was stronger than Mother Talzin, one of the more prominent Nightsisters in Galactic history. But to help put it in perspective for you allow me to help illuminate how much more powerful.

Palpatine feared her.

...Or at least, as much as Darth Sidious feared anyone. He had Dathomir isolated. Banned ships from landing there and made sure that no one on the planet could build ships of their own. Allowing Gethzerion to rule the planet, as an offering to stop her looking elsewhere. He also had an Imperial Warlord named Zsinj, the first-ever Imperial Warlord that is, enforcing the quarantine. He commanded an Executor Class Star Destroyer and a fleet of Victory Class Star Destroyers to enforce this.

It is clear that Darth Sidious viewed Gethzerion as a threat to his regime, which in of itself speaks greatly to her level of power and potential. If you have any further doubts about her, why don't you take a look at which of our own members can use Force Storm? For it is those people, those monolithic powerhouses, that are her contemporaries in power. So my advice to you, if you find yourself on Dathomir, I would avoid saying her name.

You never know if Gethzerion will answer.

~

One Source, One Empire.

--------

OOC Note: Hope you enjoy the read! I'll likely post a few more of these for people's reading pleasure. If you have a specific area you are interested in seeing me cover, let me know and I will see what I can do to accommodate you!

 

[G.Kn]

IC: Darth Skyllan
Location: The Stygian Library

----

The Winged Sith slipped through the darkened corridors of the Library with practiced ease. Their wings had to be carefully folded to avoid knocking things over given their wingspan, but Skyllan had stopped caring about such things years ago.

They had a new tale to add to the library in their quest to expand the minds of those who seek out such things. This one was a tad more esoteric than the nightsister matriarch they had covered last time, though it should be gathering similar amounts of awe. Even if, to the Dread Sith's knowledge, it did not.

Unlike last time when they had left a scroll, Darth Skyllan had decided a holorecording would be a more fitting approach for such a tale. This was less historical account and more ghost story after all. But even the tales gold around the campfire have their uses in ingraining ideas and facts into people. After all, the emotion of fear was a powerful trigger for memory recall, and today's entity was all about fear.

It was about the Darker.

~

The holorecorder clicked on to reveal the s'kytri sat in an almost throne like reading chair. In the background behind him, scenes from Kashyyyk in the clone wars played. Small groups of wookiees fighting off countless droids without hesitation. The video was soundless.

After a moment, Skyllan spoke, their voice like a whisper snaking through the air to the ear of the listener. "Let's start with a question: Have you ever inspired fear in a wookiee?"

There was a pause as they let the watcher process that. "Let's break that down properly. When I say fear, I don't mean a jump scare. Nor do I mean the sort that makes you urinate yourself. I'm talking about true fear, that cold soul destroying realisation that you are *nothing* in comparison to what stands before you. I'm talking about something primal, something so terrifying it changes your life."

The whispered tones of the sorcerer bad a perverse enjoyment mixed with a degree of reverence. They described the concept with the sort of grandeur that the 'good guys' would use to describe justice, true love, and hope. All that rubbish. To hear Skyllan use that same worshipping tone for fear would be concerning to most, but not to the sith who would listen to this.

"Now when I say wookiee, I don't just mean one of the two plus meter tall walking carpets with retractable claws and a reputation for beserker attitude so potent that 'wookinate' became racial slang for rage." The s'kytri said, a smile of pointed teeth creeping on go their face.

"I'm talking about one wookiee in particular. One known for strength of will. Whose list of allies includes people like Yoda, and Luke Skywalker. We're talking about Chewbacca, a bastion of 'let's get this done' with a record and reputation so impressive that the primary enemies of the wookiees, the Trandoshans, considered encountering him and surviving an achievement." The videos behind the sith changed to images of said wookiee, bits of security footage and recordings from Chewbacca's long life flickering behind them. As if potential viewers might need reminding of who Chewbacca was.

"So, now we've made a few clarifications, do you think you could inspire true fear in Chewbacca? That even for a moment you could bring this monolithic figure in Galactic history to his knees in terror?" Skyllan asked, pausing slightly. "Because The Darker did." The recordings, and lights on Skyllan as well, turned off. Leaving the recording in darkness.

"It broke Chewbacca's spirit and made him kneel. That alone my fellow Sithizens... that makes this being worthy of our respect. But let's go into more detail about this entity shall we?" A crimson saberstaff ignited, providing some excellent mood lighting for the retelling.

"The Darker was created on Arbra. The planets original inhabitants made it by expelling all of their negative emotions, their anger, their hate and their fear. They did this via a particularly potent ritual. That's right, this being held the power of the collective darkness of an entire civilisation. It was imprisoned deep within Arba with a Force Screen that, similarly to the Darkness, was composed of the collective power of the entire civilisation. Meaning that the screen and the Darker grew in strength at equal rates." Skyllan explained as the historical lecture took form.

"Now, in the end that same Force Screen was used to destroy the Darker. But that isn't what I'm here to talk about." Skyllan stated simply. "I'm here to tell you what would have happened if it had gotten free." They told the camera with a slight chuckle.

"It's ability to influence the emotions of others would have wrecked havok on the galaxy on a grand scale. We're not talking something as simple as war here. We're talking about everyone turning on each other. No coordinated attacks or teamwork. Just pure chaotic carnage. Especially as it was seemingly immune to physical damage - much like most other force wraiths and spirits we've seen. Can you imagine if it had found its way to a Force Nexus? How it would have amplified the Darker's power and spread it beyond its limitations?" The ashen grey sith's skin looked almost volcanic in the light of the saberstaff. Their already firery eyes looking like twin infernos of pleasure at the idea of the Darker's rampage.

"As Sith, we are all very much aware of the power of emotions. With that in mind, I hope you all can acknowledge the potent potential of an entity like The Darker. If you find a creature like this, for most of you I would suggest you run. We all learn to harness and channel our emotions for power, a being like this who is able to use those same strong emotions to control you instead? When we feel things so keenly? I wish you the best of luck." With this, Skyllan stood up, their wings ruffling behind them as the smaller projectors that had put the images up earlier packed themselves away.

"...Now if you'll excuse me, I have an experiment regarding the creation of a wraith crafted out of suitably potent emotional energy to go see to..." They said with a chuckle. "Feel free to look up more details on the Darker's story yourself. This was mostly talking about its potential after all." Darth Skyllan then clicked their fingers, and the recording ended.

----

OOC Note: Hope you enjoy the read! If you have a specific area you are interested in seeing me cover, let me know and I will see what I can do to accommodate you!

 

[G.Kn]

IC: Darth Skyllan
Location: The Stygian Library

----

Skyllan walked through the library with a scroll case in hand. the case was gilded and almost ancient in design. It was a deliberate choice on the ashen s'kytri's, specifically to reflect the nature of the contents. They had written a small summary on one of the more mythic figures in sith history, and had come to deliver it to the library.

----

K I N G A D A S

~

When Adas roared, other Sith rushed to his side or fled in terror. He enslaved the foolish and executed the idealists. When warriors challenged him, he drank their bloodsoup to honor their deaths. - Sorzus Syn

King Adas was a monolithic man, in stature, power and accomplishments. Were it not for the existence of his holocron, I would have been able to convince myself that he is some mythic retelling of our own Emperor Dreadwar. According to all available records King Adas stood at an immense height, far surpassing the usual heights for Sith. Possibly even surpassing the heights of the tallest members of the empire we have today. In addition to his height, his spiked ebon armor and gigantic alchemically forged battle axe gave him an incredibly imposing figure. A truly terrifying warrior King Adas was granted the title of Sith'ari, meaning Overlord, or Perfect Being.
​

The citizens of his empire worshiped him as a god, and rightly so given his might. In addition to being a warrior formidable with a multitude of weapons, and having immense physical strength, he was also known to be a master of Sith Magic. Usually when one faces a master practitioner in one area the best way to win is to force them to fight with their lesser skills, but by all accounts King Adas had no 'lesser' skills. He was formidable in every aspect. While a foe daring to underestimate the King might refer to him as a jack of all trades master of none sort of combatant... given the sheer degree of power in so many areas a better descriptor would be 'Master of All'.

King Adas led the ancient sith for 300 years after uniting the warring factions of Korriban, taking his axe to many a sith who stood against him. The conflicts that led to him being established as King of the Sith were described as brutal. And this is by sith standards. He did not have to wage war, for he had no true army to wage with. He just had a series of conflicts that managed to unite an empire's worth of sith. He took a world of warring people and made them heel. And again, I stress that these were not some meaningless people of a soft pacifistic planet. He united warring SITH, the ancestors of our order and they would not bow down to just anyone.

Despite being in his 300th year at the time, when King Adas discovered the Rakatan plot to farm his people he took up his axe in defense of his kingdom. Not only did he repel the Rakatan invaders, but under his command the sith managed to take several of the technologically advanced race's starships, pushing through their attackers to reach Ziost, Malachor V and Tund, securing the sith empires' new homes. King Adas died in this daring move, because even at 300 he refused to be anywhere but on the front lines of a combat involving his people. In his death throes, past his peak and severely out gunned, King Adas repelled the Rakatan invasion and secured new homes for his people. Thus, not even in death could he truly have been said to be defeated.

(To our perhaps less informed readers, any sort of victory against the Rakatans is tremendously impressive. The Infinite Empire, as they were dubbed, were truly formidable and not to be taken lightly)

However even death was not the end for the mighty King Adas, for he had embedded his sense of self into a holocron. The spirit of King Adas resides in the holocron still, and was returned to Korriban by the Dark Lady Lumiya during her stay here. I would have seeked the holocron out for a quote, but all accounts state that it has a habit of affecting the minds of those who access it and refusing to pass on any knowledge to those it seemed unworthy. Thus demonstrating that even in death, King Adas is a threat to the foolish and the unprepared, and sometimes even those who know of the holocron's powers fall just the same. King Adas is a mighty and proud sith, to be said to emulate him would be a high compliment, but to seek out his holocron and learn from it yourselves? That would be deemed unwise at best, and idiotic in general.

You have been warned.

~

Author Note: The armour of Adas, as well as his battleaxe, currently lay in the hands of Xen Gaal, also known as Lord Cruor.

----

After slipping the scroll into the requisite section of library, Skyllan had already entered it into the records after all, the artificer and part-time archivist moved to their customary exit. After opening the large window, the ashen s'kytri stepped out of it. Moments later as the window closed via telekinesis one could see the raptor like sith master soaring through the skies of Korriban with practised ease.

----

OOC Note: Hope you enjoy the read! If you have a specific area you are interested in seeing me cover, let me know and I will see what I can do to accommodate you!

 

[G.Kn]

IC: Darth Skyllan
Location: The Stygian Library

----

A Comparison of Darkness
A.k.a. Why Bane left the Brotherhood but wouldn't have left our Empire

~

Darth Bane is a legendary figure, a monolithic warrior who left the Brotherhood of Darkness and forged the legendary Rule of Two which served the Sith well for so long. Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness had turned it's back on the old ways. It abandoned the teachings of the Ancient Sith believing that the only power was that of the now. Through his studies in the Sith Archives, through learning what had taken place centuries before Darth Bane was able to learn of bits of the wisdom of the path and thus grew disillusioned with the Brotherhood of Darkness, which preached how all of the emissaries of the Dark Side were equal, when in fact, the true nature of the Sith was not equality. It was of those with Power, and those who did not.

The Rule of Two that Bane then put in place was in an attempt to raise the Sith from what it had been. The reasoning was sound increase the knowledge and power of the followers of darkness by ensuring the apprentice only becomes the master once they surpass their mentor in power and ability. The issue with this teaching was that it relied on faith. Faith that every Sith that came after him would prove as selfless as he in preserving the chain of power. All it took was one Sith who prioritized their survival over the followers of the Dark Side as a whole and the methodology that benefited Bane's line of Sith would have made would be lost.

So, while admittedly we have the advantage of happening after them, and thus being able to learn from their mistakes, let's talk about our Empire. The Eternal Sith Empire is a veritable army of dark side users, with our numbers comparable to Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness. However, we still strictly maintain a hierarchy directly relating to merit and power. The higher ranks have a great deal more power than the ranks before them. Going from peon's who could potentially wipe out a small town or village by themselves in terms of pure power, all the way up to the Dark Council and the Duumvirate, who are honestly all upwards of planetary threat levels. Each of them alone is more than a match for an entire intergalactic fleet of foes. With many of them capable of surviving a turbolaser shot at them from outside the system they are in at the time.

So with the power levels of our own Empire spoken about, let's talk about lore and knowledge. This Empire boasts one of the biggest collections of knowledge on Galactic History, Scientific Knowledge and Arcane Knowledge. We have an incredibly wide range of skill sets encompassing all of the more 'common' force and saber abilities, and almost all of the esoteric ones. Every single member of the Empire has a knowledge base that is improved upon over the course of their initial apprenticeship, and many chose to continue expanding their horizons afterwards too. Our collective knowledge and skill potentially out ways the entirety of the galaxy, both past and present. Why? Because we learn from those who have come before us, we constantly focus on teaching and learning the practices of the past, and building upon them and utilising them in new ways that past pioneers in the fields couldn't have even dreamed of, because of our collective dedication to self improvement and betterment.

Now then, if Darth Bane had been born into our order instead of Kaan's? Well, based on our records of his own thirst to better himself and strengthen himself, he would have thrived here. He would have taken in every bit of knowledge his elders could have given him. The Dark Lord would have scorned and punished the peon's who demanded more recognition then they are worth, and he would have done everything he could to increase his own standings in the ranks and his power. One may argue that he would still leave, after all, if he stood alone then no one would stand above him. That is one of the driving forces behind all dissenters. However, we know Darth Bane was not selfish, we know he sought to improve the power of the Sith as a whole, not just his own. His own methodology that he settled on was built on him training someone to one day kill him, all for the betterment of the Sith, and an increase in the power of those that utilise the Dark Side.

So why on earth would he split off from the Empire? Kaan criticised the study of lore, claiming that it had no lessons to teach. The Eternal Empire not only encourages the study of lore, but it is practically mandatory. The Brotherhood preached that all disciples of the dark were equal. The Dark Council, the Lords and Ladies, the Masters, the Knights, Apprentices and Acolytes all enforce the hierarchy with near vicious relish. We tearing down any and all who try to rise above their station without earning it, and any that do earn it will do so because of their knowledge, power, skill and dedication towards the Empire and improving the Empire. Kaan and his cronies did not tolerate fresh thinking, crushing any ideas that were not their own, enforcing their own 'teachings' without bothering to truly check them for weaknesses or hubris. We on the other hand not only have practically regular Kaggath's where new blood is brought into the upper echelons of our society, but praise new ideas, initiative and innovation. We are constantly critiquing the ways we run things and ensuring that nothing grows stagnant or stale. We fight to stay on top and ensure we are as advanced as possible.

So if you have indulged me so far I thank you, and ask for a little more as I make my concluding remarks. Our meritocratic order is far superior to Kaan's Brotherhood. Bane would not have left us, instead he would have risen through the ranks, likely at a truly impressive rate. Though personally I think it might have taken him a little longer to earn his Darth title with us. But furthermore, unlike Kaan's group, we, the Eternal Empire, would never have let such a promising student get away. Furthermore, we would never have allowed someone who scorned the Empire to live, we would never have let them rejoin, and above all else?

We would never have let them believe they even had a chance of destroying us, let alone actually do it.

----

The knowledge that Skyllan had deposited today was less of a factual piece, but more of an opinionated scholarly review. They looked forward to seeing if anyone tried to argue against them, or added their own thoughts. They had, quite deliberately, uploaded it to the library's databanks instead of providing a written copy this time. That way people could add, or argue, as they saw fit. If they saw fit. Regardless, Skyllan would be waiting to see.

 

[G.Kn]

Location: The Stygian Library

~

One day, a document detailing alternative melee weapons was uploaded to the digital side of the Stygian Library. The author? Darth Skyllan once more.

~

Melee Weaponry in the Galaxy

docs.google.com

 

[corinthia]

(Bumping this thread)