SWTOR: The Davire Legacy

[2018] Main Chapters: Part 3 - Korriban

Seyje hadn't slept a wink. The night before, she had received a message from a courier droid that she was to meet with Darth Baras at the break of dawn. The sun hadn't even broken the horizon when she rose from bed and went out to the front of the Academy to an abandoned landing pad. It was an isolated place where she could collect her thoughts. Her mind was racing.

A Darth had come specifically for her. That alone put her on edge, knowing that she was targeted. But why? What did Baras know about her that would have piqued his interest? It couldn't just be her rank as a Mentor. Almost the entire Academy was already aware of how she was trapped in that position, and no smart Lord would be foolish enough to take her under their wing. Not while Acina was still on the Council. So what was it?

A test, perhaps. Ever since Seyje had been singled out for the Mentor role, her peers had looked upon her with great jealousy. More than once, another acolyte had tried to take her head in the middle of the night. Veshta then had to arrange for private quarters, which only aggravated Seyje's peers even more. The glee in their eyes when they discovered she was without a master had been difficult to ignore, but still, Seyje persisted. She had fought her way to the top and had been able to maintain that spot.

"Why is he here for me?" she muttered to herself. The redhead had no answers, and standing here all morning was not going to solve anything.

After scrounging up a quick breakfast from the mess hall and getting herself ready, Seyje set off for her meeting. Trailing through the hallways, Seyje couldn't help but notice how secluded her destination was. She paused just outside the doorway and took a deep breath, calling upon the Force to subdue the anxiety in her gut. She also put up a temporary shield around her mind using one of the techniques she had learned from Lord Veshta.

As she entered the antechamber, she heard a hollowed voice echoing from the adjacent room. Whoever was speaking sounded like they were bored out their mind.

"Most of you will not return from this endeavor. If you die, you will be forgotten. If you give up, you will be killed. Now, out of my sight."

A group of acolytes walked past her as she entered the room, one of whom looked strikingly unfamiliar. He was light skinned with blue eyes, and his reddish brown hair was shaved into multiple rows across his head. Two long, ugly scars created a sideways 'X' on his face, crossing each other just underneath his right eye. He wore the gray acolyte armor with thick red shoulder pads, but his had a few different markings on the pants and upper chest that made him appear higher ranked than most.

The two of them paused in their steps, staring each other down. Seyje could feel the heavy anticipation rolling off of him like an over-eager akk pup, and yet whatever anxiety he felt was masked with an angry scowl.

"Vemrin, you have been dismissed."

The acolyte said nothing, merely kept his eyes on Seyje as he left the room. Seyje shook her head, deciding to contemplate the interaction later. She set her sights on the Darth standing behind the table. He was dressed in pale blue robes and armor, his shoulder pads long and pointed. His head was encased in an ornate metal mask that made it appear as if he only had one eye.

"Mentor Seyje. Step forth," Darth Baras commanded.

Obeying instantly, Seyje approached the table where he stood.

"Let me get a closer look at you... You alone hold the title of Mentor in this academy, and yet no Sith Lord has stepped forward to claim you as their apprentice. Why?"

She could feel his presence slithering around her mind, searching for a crack in her shield like a snake trying to find the jugular on its prey. Seyje bit back a scoff of irritation. She had already been asking herself the same question for over a year.