A dark figure enters the room

[Cardinal Aiyalin]

A small human enters, cloaked from head to toe in the deepest black. Shrugging the hood from her head, she surveys the room. Her black hair frames a face of the whitest alabaster, and her eyes are the deepest blue.

She bows low, going down on one knee. She keeps her head low as she speaks..

"My name is Cardinal Aiyalin. I have recently journeyed to the Sith Order with the hopes of becoming an apprentice. I have heard rumors of the Black Hand. I come to ask for a mentor. A teacher of your ways.. I am a fast learner, and though I know nothing about how to manipulate the force, I am willing to try. Will anyone accept me?"

[Trist Aren]

With a crackle that his unmoving spine had been bottling for hours, Trist Aren was on his toes.

The smell of rotting flesh lay fallow in the air. Trist flared his nostrils and inhaled. But it was not the decay that entered: instead, the wonderful smell of the Dark Side, engraving itself in his soul.

But there was a faint hint of... what was it? Something... clean! He thought, smelled again. Not clean. Nothing of the blinding light. But yet... Not soiled.

Trist's belly heaved slightly with a chuckle, and he forgot for a second about the obstruction. "Epileptic... Heh, that's what we Dark Jedi are."

"Oh, yes. The intruder." He walked down the stair, heavy footsteps droning out the insane cackling echo that resided in these snaky corridors.

Ah, there she was. An ivory face and eyes deep enough that one would have to take measures to not get lost in them.

"My name is Cardinal Aiyalin. I...."

Trist clasped his ears and hummed to drown out her voice. "I know what you mean to say, woman! It's the same with them all. You ne..." He was cut off as a searing pain ran through him. He flung up his arms and shrieked loudly. He half crawled, half pulled himself to the doorway, and grapsed it's lintel in one hand, a post in the other. The support was enough and he shoved down his pain.

He then walked calmly back over to her. "..Ed to see that we hardly have the resources to perfect ourselves. Hence, we cannot afford to train you."

[Emperor Shimi]

You will speak when you are spoken to, my child...

It was the only sound Aiyalin heard, as she peered into the darkness. Soon, the dark void took on shape as the visage of the Dark Emperor, Shimi, emerged to be seen. Even in sight, he was a void unto all, shrouded inwards upon himself. Only his form could be seen, everything else cast into impenetrable shadow.

My flock is not simply something for you to ingratiate yourself upon. Leave your niceties behind you if you dare wish to reveal yourself to us again. In time, if your ambitions can indeed corrupt your morality, we may call for you to speak with us. Until that day arrives, begone from my countenance...for I do not dawdle with those who desire only the favor of my attention. If you wish to be a servant unto us, then begone...for you will inevitably become so. My flock are a great many things, servants shall not be one of such.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Jeseth watched the events unfolded and slipped into clearer view, shadow's melting away like a thick fluidic viel. He went no where in this castle without them.

"Yield for a moment, my Brothers..."

He walked up to the woman and placed a hand beaneath her chin, pulling up her face and looking into her eyes. He could see her dissapointment. He had once, too, been in this position. He had felt thirst thirst for knowledge.

His hand moved back quickly, shoving her to the floor.

"Tell me, Aiyalin, why us? Why not the Sith? or those that call themselves the 'Jedi.'"

[Cardinal Aiyalin]

She looked directly into Jeseth's eyes

"Jedi" she spat the word like it left a sour taste in her mouth, "Weaklings, all of them. A few years ago the Jedi were powerless to help save my family from being raped and murdered. They all said that it "went against their ways" to interfere with ones hunting us. They watched as I was raped, and my parents slaughtered. Of course they apologized later, saying they did not know it would go that far."

Her hands clenched in fists of rage, but she went on.

"They took no action -- those weaklings. They were afraid, that's why. For all their vaunted oaths and glorious talk, they simply watched innocents die. I spit upon the Jedi oath, and I spit upon the Jedi. They are too weak to rule the galaxy, they lack the backbone needed. I realize this now."

Cardinal's face relaxes from the grimace that gripped it seconds ago.

"The Sith, on the other hand, are something different. I do not think of myself as a truly evil person. I seek revenge, and if someone gets in my way I will kill them. I respect the Sith, and honor their ways. But I have heard of you, of the Black Hand. You are respected, and you are feared. Only the best are chosen -- the elite wielders of the Force. I feel I can be the best, I have what it takes."

Her hard eyes borred into the warrior's in front of her... waiting for his answer.

[Jeseth Cloak]

"My dear Aiyalin, you are wiser than we may have first thought. Walk with me for a while. Tell me more about your family..?"

He extended a hand to her, bringing her to feet and releasing his grip on her abruptly. The icy touch child her to the bone; He was too calm. It bordered on total apathy... Why did he seem to care? More and more curious by the moment.

[Cardinal Aiyalin]

She stood with his help, his icy hands sending a shiver down her spine. Her hand remained cold, even though he had let go moments before. She brought her hands together in front of her chest, trying to warm them, and followed Jeseth's lead.

"My family, hmmm..." her eyes drift past the surroundings, back to the distant past.. "My father worked for the New Republic as a spy. He ran various infiltration jobs into well-known crime families -- he had done so for years. He helped bring down many of those families. I never knew what my father did until I was older - about 15 or so - my mother stayed with us, protecting us from any dangers that my father's profession put us in. Unfortunately, about two years ago, my father's profession caught up to us. He realized the surviving relatives of the Mallacite family were tracking us -- with a mark to kill."

Her face hardened, she needed to take a few deep breaths before she continued.

"He requested aid from the Republic, but they denied any such involvement. Denied he even worked for them, his very existence was not even on record. Dismayed, he went to the Jedi. They supposedly help people in need -- anyone, supposedly. Two Jedi Knights were sent to appraise the situation, but they found it not dire. They decided to leave the next day saying that my father had been overreacting. That night was when the family came to collect its dues. There were quite a few of them.. they tied my father up and made him watch while myself and my mother were raped. They slit my mother's throat after, and then slit my fathers -- making me watch both. They figured to keep me for their little "slave," but I managed to escape that night."

She stopped walking, to which Jeseth followed her lead. She stared him straight in the eyes,

"I went to the inn where the Jedi were staying. They let me in and listened to my story. Of course they apologized for what happened, but told me there was nothing they could have done. It's funny how no one suspects such a small girl would be carrying to daggers hidden in her dress. They were ignorant, and completely unaware of what I was planning. Before they had time to react, a dagger slit one's throat open, and was aimed at the next. Both died slowly. That was the first time I had ever killed anyone."

Pausing again, she takes another deep breath.

"That was two years ago. I am 18 now, and I still blame the Jedi for their mistake. They robbed me of my life, my dreams, my goals. They took my soul away from me. I will gain my revenge on the Jedi, even if it takes me for the rest of my life."

[Jeseth Cloak]

"And now you seek someone to help you find peace? No, I will not help you in towards such an end. You have too much potential. Don't you see that you're only half right? Revenge should not be your motive - There are better things to idle your thoughts on! If you seek to be a spawn mindless hatred, then this is not a place for you to call home; Seek out the Sith." He turned his back to her, brooding.

The young ones never understood. The always came with misconceptions. He sensed her unrelenting gaze upon him. What the hell did she want now?!

Jeseth calmly turned to her.

"Yes?"

[Cardinal Aiyalin]

"I can see that I stated that wrongly. I tend to misspeak my mind when I am angry."

She looked at him

"I will seek revenge on the Jedi, but that does not drive my entire life. A Sith's life is totally devoted to that mindless hatred, and while I do harbor a hatred for their ways.. I feel I am different."

She sighs... How can she explain this to him...

"I know not the words to put my thought into. I seek a balance, a medium between the ones who call themselves Jedi and the Sith. The Black Hand epitomizes that balance. While not wholely engrossed in hatred, it shares an afinity with the Dark Side."

She knew it wasn't coming out right.. her thoughts were disorganized, confused. She had not expected such vehemonce at her answer. She realized she must be cautious, and decided to take a different approach to the questioning.

"I feel a calling to this place. To people who share my same ideals. I've never quite fit in wherever I have gone, so that is of no moment."

She pauses, unsure of whether to ask the next question

"Why did you come here, dark angel?"

[Jeseth Cloak]

Dark Angel?

"I sought knowledge that was, as they put it, 'not for my eyes.' Myself and my dark brother, Darth Rane, found that it was time for us to break away from old traditions and bring together our people. The Dark Jedi have been scattered for ages before the clone wars. The Sith assimilated us into their culture... while they do possess useful skills, it was not for us to embrace their teachings so readily. I came here to find a balance, much like the balance that you seek."

He paused for a moment and sighed considering things. He was letting his thoughts wander back toward's his emotions. That was never a good thing.

"Lets continue this talk in the my study..."

He walked on ahead of her.