heirtothedragonsfire | A Courtesy Welcome Call for dark_lady

The place had come to her attention fairly early, in part through simply reading about it and also careful observation. She had, admittedly, followed a few of the lower-level employees, in case surveillance constantly watched people higher up the food chain. Once she was certain the purpose of the place was as stated, she had made her approach directly.

The library was providing frankly too much in the way of materials - such a place might help her focus her study, hone her ideas. Being here gave her so very many ideas - and she was just beginning to tie those threads together. Granted, that went for everything in her head these days.

She had found an old standing desk, which suited her nature. And then she had started to request files. The older the better. She was currently making her way through a thick file when the knock came. She had dispensed with the cloak on her entrance - and had even hidden away her lightsaber since she would not need it. Nor would she relinquish it to any security people. But she still wore her usual leathers, though without the gloves. Nothing that could catch, in case something had to be done suddenly.

She turned when the knock came, folding her hands behind her back.

"More than adequately," she replies, calmly.

"Good."

One of the benefits of being raised around studious researchers is knowing the generally shared habits. Which is why, although she glances at the files Sariss already has, she doesn't approach them. Even when a researcher is eager to talk about their work, they rarely want to share their notes. The downside of that upbringing is that Isidor desperately wants to know anyway. Curiosity runs in her blood, it's training that holds it back.

Looking around, she finds everything comes to an acceptable standard. It's only a shame that the building isn't bursting at the seams.

When she looks back at Sariss, Isidor smiles in careful pleasantness. "You'll have plenty of room. You won't get lonely, will you, working on your own?"

Frankly, if anything, she will find the growing pages of carefully written aurebesh notes to be of particular interest.

"I prefer solitude," she replies, perhaps just a beat too quickly. "I have never had the luxury of colleagues, really, so it is never a habit I came to hold."

A cabal of Dark Jedi were not precisely co-workers. Though oddly cooperative in her case.

Isidor nods gently in understanding, allowing her eyes to wander over the woman's set up.

"Your area of study is quite intangible. For something with such a broad scope some assistants could be very useful. Something worth considering, even for a solitary researcher."

She smiles, mirthlessly, for a moment.

"That is definitely a word for it. I am afraid, however, that there is the mundane issue of funds between myself and affording help."

She was earning - well, stealing, honestly - enough to survive on. But that was the irony to her situation. The power and fury of a minor deity and she has to rely on commerce. It was mildly insulting, but she was more adaptable than most of her ilk.

"In any event, I believe that I offer a third path where...science or...magic will not work." The very discovery of people with magical abilities was a frightening one, not least of which because it was a knowledge beyond her own.

Isidor smothers her smile at the woman's disdain for money. It's not something she's had any issue with, between coming from a wealthy family, and being given the tools to ensure it never becomes an issue, money has never been a problem for Isidor.

It makes sense then that Sariss would rather talk about research than money. Isidor leans against a nearby workbench and folds her arms, settling in for a sales pitch. "Oh?"

Perhaps the most amazing facet of the multiverse to her has been just how many cultures rely on money to equate to power. But he has to admit that capital has a unique way of creating that power.

She also has the disquieting feeling of not being at the helm of this situation - and that is another feeling she's been getting used to, here. This one is dangerously clever.

But her priority, above all things, is the acquisition and utilization of knowledge. She suspects the other woman understands that.

"I know we dealt with...intermediaries, in part, before my coming here. How much were you acquainted with...who I am? Or, perhaps more precisely, what I represent?"

"You come from a technology focused universe, and you personally have... non-technologically based powers, although the details on them were somewhat vague." It's reached a point where Isidor is relatively sure she could handle anything that comes under her roof. She can afford her residents a little privacy.

With a deep breath for a pause she continues, "Your universe has a multitude of factions and political differences and races and, I'm sure, religions too."

The specifics about Sariss were a little vague, but there reaches a point where it becomes difficult to be concerned about the specifics of every universe's situation and where each individual fits in with that. That point comes when you're dealing with an increasing number of new people every day as part of a growing organisation. It's a point where the only people who really get attention are the ones who deserve that attention.

Given that this place is made up entirely of immigrants and refugees, in a way, it would have to be that way, wouldn't it? No one person could collate all that data. Not without a computer built into their mind, at any rate.

"In essence, that is correct. Though your world, from what I have observed, has compensations ours does not. I assume you have one of those...cellular devices? That is a tool never developed in my universe. We can cross lightyears, but the simple versatility of that device is unknown to us. Ironic."

But she shakes that thought away.

"I doubt you would care much for a lengthy explanation, but suffice to say that people like me have...a connection. To a sort of energy produced by all life. It is as vibrant here as anywhere, albeit...different. Pulsing rather than flowing, I think. The people like me who are born with an ability to access that, call upon it - it does grant us an array of abilities. Some greater than others."

She actually laughs, very lightly. It might not be the most reassuring sound. "There are practitioners of my abilities who would cause you no end of sleepless nights."

The implication, of course, being that she isn't one of them. Never hurts to raise a sense of security.

"If I was kept awake by the thought of every powerful being I'd never get any sleep," Isidor replies with a pinched smile.

She lets her head list slightly to one side while she considers what she's heard. It's little wonder she starts by comparing it to what she knows: Magic. "So you practice a sort of... life-magic?"

There is a clear look of distaste at that, but she nods.

"Somewhat accurate in terms of look if not in cause. A reasonable comparison to make, for those unfamiliar. But magic, in any universe is a matter of...conjuration. Words in a precise order. There are accoutrements that are often necessary. Wands, various sundry things. Pointy hats, in many stories."

She holds out a hand near the table. With the slight curl of a finger, her stylus rises into the air, slowly spinning.

"The Force is much more direct. And without the worrisome apparent lack of conservation of mass. This, of course, is just equivalent of a conjuring trick so hardly the most impressive feat. But I have seen everything from enhanced speed, tremendous leaps...enormous destructive powers. One of the powerful beings I refer to enhanced the combat capabilities of millions of soldiers...possibly from lightyears away."

That secret, alas, died with the Emperor.

"But my point," she continues, with the slightest look of apology for the aside, "is more that the same effects can work to similar scales within. I can feel the presence of individuals, for instance. I hope to apply that to the energy field here. Which is what certainly is causing the fluctuations I feel."

That expression is a curious thing to see. True, she's seen magic disliked for numerous reasons, but usually by people who don't have similar abilities. Sariss clearly has something non-technology based which can be mistaken for magic which makes this apparent disdain seem rather unusual.

"Hmm. Perhaps it's closer to qi than Western practices," she muses aloud. Eastern philosophies aren't her area of expertise, but what she knows of it sounds similar to what Sariss is describing to her.

Pulling herself from her theorising, she smiles at Sariss. There's a touch of challenge to her tone when she asks, "Really? Can you tell anything about me by my 'presence'?"

She has lived a life in the far reaches of a galaxy where ignorance often reigns - and the abilities of people like her are mistaken for superstitious hocus-pocus. To her mind, 'magic' as a concept is imprecise and archaic - part of a story book or fakery.

To her mind, it is much like being compared to a magician at a birthday party - or a scientist being compared to the man selling 'Dr.Lovegood's Feel-Good Oils' from a hastily-departing wagon.

"I was reading about 'qi' in the library - the wording is certainly familiar. It certainly is an impression of what is within, and it is a natural part of everyone. But as for individuals..."

She shakes her head. "I cannot read minds, like in the stories. But I can feel emotions, certainly. The stronger they are felt, the more easily. Anger, passion, desire are the simplest. Others can be more subtle. From this we can interpret conclusions - and in many cases influence actions."

"I would demonstrate," she adds, after a moment's hesitation, "but it would require permission. And if you have the will I suspect, the compulsion will hardly effect you. But you will feel some of what I mean."

Sariss may be adamant that it's not magic, but that doesn't stop Isidor from using the categorisation she's familiar with to narrow down her understanding of these abilities. Using empathy as a route into mental manipulation isn't unknown, but few people openly admit to such practices.

The mage considers the other woman silently for a minute. Ambition, fury, desire... are all emotions she's fought to control. On the one hand, it would be educational to experience the tug of influence first hand. On the other, no one is informed of this. If she succumbs to an external influence, gives permission to it, with no way of being having a trustee to resolve the matter... Well. Curiosity cannot be an excuse for outright foolishness.

Isidor settles on a smile again. "Not right now, I think."

"A word of advice; It's up to you, of course, but magic varies wildly from universe to universe. I wouldn't discount all magic too quickly."

This time it's Isidor's turn to raise a hand and share a little of her skills. The orb that appears over her hand is small and glows with a warm light. She lets it stay there for a moment before shifting it into an equally small flame that twists around for a second and then flickers out of existence again.

One corner of her mouth tugs upwards when she looks back to Sariss. "Not all mages need incantations, pointy hats, or wands."

She inclines her head in understanding.

"Cautious, but likely for good reasons." Unsaid, of course, is how rare it is for someone like Sariss to ask permission for such a thing. But she is more adaptable than many of her fellows. And mind invasion does not exactly make for alliance-building.

But when that orb appears, her attention is laser-focused on it, narrowing her eyes to see if she can get a feel of it, to weigh it, give it some form of substance in her mind. It is gone all too quickly. But for someone from a universe with no magic but a lot of charlatans - that is something of a revelation.

"What drives it?" she immediately asks, curiosity going into overdrive. "Where does the energy come from? Does it present a drain on the user?"

There are worse things to be known for than caution. Especially when she's the one managing a research centre. So Isidor will follow Sariss' lead in saying little else on the matter. She can always ask again, when she's more prepared. The other woman doesn't seem temperamental in any shape or form, after all.

It's difficult to hide her amusement at that reaction. Inciting curiosity is one of the few pleasures she finds difficult to resist indulging in. There were times in her youth where she had little else to do to reduce her boredom.

"In my case? A bloodline purists would envy and a wealth of the best training to utilise it," she answers easily. "Magic that comes from the self always presents some kind of drain. The key is to make it as efficient as possible. The energy usage of small spells like that is negligible." She folds her arms again. "Doesn't your power drain you?"

She lacks the mercurial nature of Sith Lords. Pettiness and mindless vengeance are things that get in the way, and absolutely cause more problems than they solved. Her career under Jerec, her old Master, had been about being a problem solver.

In any event, knowledge was far more important than ego.

She nods at the question, finding a surprising amount of similarity, there. Which in itself raises more questions than it would answer, in her mind. "On much the same lines, yes," she agrees, nodding her head.

"Simple things are not a problem - but constant exertion will drain one of us. Granted, the greatest practitioners operate at such a high baseline level that it becomes difficult to tell. But there are costs there, too."

She knew that the Emperor, for instance, had enough power to decay his physical body - there were stories that by the time of his death at Endor, he had been through several clone bodies.

Isidor straightens, pushing away from the desk and beginning to walk slowly. One hand rises, her thumb rubbing knuckles as she voices her thoughts as they play out.

"So if this ability allows you to access the life force all beings make, why does it degrade the body so much? Is that a consequence of handling too much raw power? Or of using it for a purpose other than its natural one? Or simply because in those cases you're only accessing your own, personal life energy?"

She looks pensive for a moment before she replies.

"It could be any of those things - or it could be the nature of the emotions involved. To achieve that level of power takes an...intensity of thought and feeling that I cannot match."

And she has long since hammered a lifetime of rage and pain on an anvil of focus into something white-hot and very sharp. So she is speaking from some authority.

"It could simply be economies of scale," she adds, lifting her shoulders slightly in a slight shrug, "or perhaps duration."

After Sariss shares her speculation, Isidor turns to her, a smile twisting her lips. "It always amazes me how quickly people drop the search for cold hard facts as soon as feeling gets involved."

Inhaling slowly, she straightens and clasps her hands in front of her. "I'm taking you off topic. The last thing I meant to do was steer your scientific focus onto things that suit me better, even for a moment."

She's here to provide a workspace, not to correct other people's research however she thinks is right. Something that she'll no doubt have to remind herself repeatedly. Isidor is not used to taking a back seat in any regard.

She waits for her to finish speaking, the look on her face taking on only the slightest brittleness for a moment. She hardly cares for correction, but then who of her ilk would? Their power comes from their passion, their rage - whatever fuels it. To be a Dark Jedi is to take knowledge and apply it through force of will and by the unleashing of powerful emotions.

"Perhaps, but this is a meeting of worlds, this place. The bridging becomes natural. But do not be so quick to underestimate 'feeling.' It is...application of knowledge. It can create great or terrible things. Or tear them down to unto dust."

She holds up her hand, closing her fist. And her face darkens, just a little, and perhaps to someone as attuned to energy and magic as Isidor she will feel the sense of heaviness that descends with the moment. She calls forth her darkness, and a play of something like electricity wraps around her fist, arching out over her fingers as she slowly opens her hand. Force Lightning. It isn't lightning in any real sense, of course. It is a visible projection of the Dark Side, capable of draining the very life essence from an opponent, or wreaking havoc on anything with a circuit.

"For me," Sariss says slowly, the moment coming to an end as swiftly as it came, the lightning dissipating into nothingness, "for my world, there are things that must be felt instead of just being known. Science and passion must be one. And in the end, it is germane to the point because, well. This place vibrates in the Force. I can feel it turn under my feet. I can feel...shifts as it changes. And I believe, given proximity to a locus of its energy...I can make contact."

From there, a whole realm of questions become available. Along with a wellspring of possibilities.

As a matter of course Isidor likes to be right. She likes everyone else to know it, too. Keeping her tongue still in defence of her own ego is always a little tricky when it's not in the service of humiliating that person later. Lately though she's decided that it would be best to mimic her parental figures in keeping wasted breath to a minimum. Those worth her time will come to know her, eventually.

Still, her eyebrow lifts in a twitch when Sariss tells her not to underestimate feeling in something that might disdainfully be considered a command. Her, the patron and avid supported of the most emotional scholar the Durants have ever seen. Alright, so maybe her lips thin a little. A look not helped by the frown as she focuses in on the lightning. This, at least, is out of pure curiosity as she susses what she can of it. Then, just like that, it's gone, and Isidor's expression returns to neutrality once more.

"Working off of senses beyond the basic few is a common practice to those, in what is roughly a fifty-fifty split in my experience." Her pleasant smile is back and she just can't help herself, "Which makes it all the more important to quantify and studiously examine what is most difficult to examine."

"Speaking of large sources of power, it might be prudent to give me some forewarning if you intend on tapping into a large, potentially volatile energy source. That way we can accommodate for any fluctuations on the grid and provide you with an emergency response should you need one."

Being a Dark Jedi is based in study, but also in passion. It is a power that cannot be accessed without powerful emotions. The more powerful, the better. And for all the rage and pain that fuels her, hammered to a white hot point, even Sariss has no idea what emotions it would take to create the sort of powers that Palpatine had exhibited.

There is a natural arrogance that comes with it, too. Dark Jedi command, they do not follow. To bend even this much was difficult for her. But that is what comes of her being significantly more flexible than many of her peers. Progress is progress, even when difficult.

"Where possible," she rejoins, hands tightening in front of her, just a little bit.

"I did say contact - with no understanding of its nature, tapping into it would be dangerous in the extreme. I have no intention of having my mind liquefied."

That it could also cause tremendous upheaval beyond her own head is of secondary importance.

Asking about her methodology might be a bit much, that's even if they use the same terminology. It's in Isidor's interests for all the research in this centre to succeed, which lends itself to the same treatment as her more successful ventures. However, running a research centre as a strict business only goes so far. Sometimes she has to treat it more like she treats her own brother's research. And that means questions.

"Can you contact an energy force which shows little in the way of conscience as we understand it?"

She shrugs, very slightly.

"Contact may not prove the correct word. Connect, fathom - who knows. But do keep an eye on my reports. One term or the other will be telling."

She sighs, a bit contentedly.

"Frankly, the questions interest me more than the answers, in this case. Especially as every time I get answers it just provokes new questions."

She pauses, then, a finger tapping against her opposing hand.

"A question for you, and I do hope you'll forgive the presumption: have you any enemies?"

There we go. Some clarification in the right direction. Isidor nods in thoughtful agreement so as not to show any appreciation for the small correction. She certainly does intend to keep an eye on the reports that appear, but the new researcher's question catches Isidor off guard. Her eyebrows rise and she's slow to answer at first, trying to quickly discern the other woman's thoughts with no luck.

"I have a lot of things, but not enemies. Not anyone who's worth being considered as such, anyway. I don't even have competition in this place."

When winter came and threatened them all she took up the role of leader, but not a single person so much as questioned her authority. At the time she'd fully expected to have to fight to keep that role, or had rumours spread about her. Coming out of that without so much as a whisper suggesting she did it to secret away extra food for herself would have been funny if the situation hadn't been so grim.

"Don't get me wrong, there are irritations, concerns, people to watch, people to keep away from my family even... but enemies? No." Pushing aside her urge to laugh at the absurdity of the Nexus, she narrows her eyes curiously at Sariss instead. "Why?"

"Curious and fascinating," she responded, shaking her head.

"You have accumulated a locus of power, to say nothing of your own personal prowess - and yet nobody has tried to take it from you. You speak with such authority, that broaches no disagreement."

She smiles at that last. Oh yes, she can understand that. She rather likes it, too.

"I suspect that you will, one day. It is sadly inevitable, I find. But you've done remarkably well to come so far without a nemesis. There are still so many who dislike a woman holding any power, by itself."

She pauses, striving for dark humor.

"Unless you took the simplest expedient and simply eliminated a few before they became threats."

It is mostly meant as humor, but this woman is...interesting. And there is much unknown about her. She hopes to provoke some kind of telling reaction.

The corner of the mage's mouth twists in a smile. Confidence and straight-forwardness are cardinal sins in the law of feminine wiles (at least where she was raised). It looks like she's not the only one who's more comfortable flaunting that particular set of rules. Part of her wonders if Sariss has had to play pretend as often as she has.

"You make it sound like the only way to deal with potential threats is to kill them." Her feigned seriousness is broken with a light shrug and a wry grin. "Where's the fun in that?"

"As for the lack of competition, well..." Again she shrugs, this time leaning back against a counter. "If you can find out why, you can let me know. There's no pleasure in being the best when no one else is even showing up."

In more ways than she would ever want to remember. So much of her darkness is fueled by her memories. There are whole worlds she would burn to a cinder because they were places that, in every way, tried to make her nothing but an obedient pet.

"The most efficient, perhaps, but yes - not the most fun." None of her thoughts show on her face, of course. Her control is more internal than many of her ilk.

"So, unchallenged and unrivaled - how do you enjoy yourself?"

Death, with all its permanence and consequence, is not something to be approached lightly. No one can claim it's not efficient in ending a person and what they bring with them, but fate rarely keeps things so neat. With a whole swathe of other mages, of deities and creatures from the dark to be wary of, most of Isidor's family and peers hesitate to risk the delicate peace they live in. So joking it is, and a wider grin for Sariss' concession.

That question comes out of the blue. Not that she hasn't been asked it before. In fact, she's been asked it too many times. So many people eager to get past the business and to the personal. She just hadn't quite expected it from Sariss, who herself seems so forthright and serious.

It takes her a second but in a blink she's back to her pleasant smiling. "By exploring and improving. If no one else is going to challenge me then I'll have to compete against myself."

It isn't, but she has dealt in it so long that it is an old friend. In her world, any conflict was one fought to the death - there were no exits, little diplomacy. But there was much subtlety, a vast bevy of corruption - and violence, suddenly lurking around every potential corner.

She also wastes no time, and asks what comes to her mind. This woman has power and wields it, and that is rare enough - but she wants to find the edges, complete the picture.

"A wise answer," she intones, impressed. "I am rare amongst my ilk that I seek out knowledge at all corners."

That answer has Isidor looking at her strangely. There's a hint of joking when she asks, "Do your people not like seeking knowledge?"

And not a hint in her reply.

"When it suits them, they do. But it is a means, not an end. What they seek is power, above all things. They do not understand, as we do, that knowledge and power are not separate things. One is an effect of the other."

"Mmm," Isidor hums thoughtfully, narrowed eyes assessing the woman in front of her. Power and knowledge. Knowledge and power. A dangerous combination whatever way you look at it.

"So you seek power through knowledge? Rather than knowledge for knowledge's sake."

"Before coming here, I could have answered that in a moment," she replied, looking off into the distance, thoughtfully.

"It was power gained of knowledge. In days past, I was a servant of a Master who understood what it meant - but now? Now I have my own path to chart, for the first time in my entire life."

This is what sets her apart from her fellows. And what makes her dangerous.

Isidor's evaluating gaze doesn't move an inch. People's origins have a hold over them, and this glimpse into Sariss' is telling. The thirst for power is not easily shaken, and while freedom might be a bright distraction, that thirst remains. Just better hidden.

"Well. If you're looking to discover your own knowledge, here is the place to do it." She smiles, her eyes a little to bright, and then straightens. "I should leave you to your work."

Ah. There it is. Honesty and what it achieves, demonstrated again - driving people away as quickly as their legs can take them. Inwardly, she sighs. Outwardly, her look merely goes somewhat blank.

"Yes, I've kept you from your own duties far too long."

A Courtesy Welcome Call for dark_lady_sariss

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Sorry for the length. She's gonna go dramatic on me.

Haha no worries, I write novel answers too

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