sixwordstories | (no subject)

Indeed. I love it.

[A half-laugh, half-giggle came from her, a strange combination, as she turned to face Azula.]

A woman after my own heart. Probably straight through the ribcage.

You wouldn't even feel it sliding between the ribs.

Which conflicts do you speak of?

She's in some luck as it happens. Azula's ... changed somewhat since her "treatment". Somewhat. She's a little more curious these days.

[She can't help but smile, really. She would, in the end, make an excellent apprentice. The right combination of eager to learn, and also keeping the master on her toes. She wonders...]

Oh, well said. Well said indeed.

And I speak of a galaxy of them. Small, large. Thousands of planets. Millions, in the past few decades. A never-ending cycle of conflict and opportunity.

Azula is well-educated, or otherwise, she wouldn't even know what a 'galaxy' was. The idea of conflicts playing out on such a scale is beyond fascinating. It's intoxicating. It makes her feel like perhaps her problem was just that she'd been playing on too small a stage.

Once, she believed Father was the greatest man in the world. Now? She realizes he held her back.

Tell me more.

Hmm.

[And she can feel that ambition. It's hard to miss. And always worth feeding, just a bit. Not to satisfy, but to whet the appetite.]

Well then. [She sits back into a chair, crossing her long legs. The Scepter of Ragnos is held in one hand, spun idly on its point, the rhythm of the metal on the stone constant and clear.] Let me tell you about a vast galaxy, and the Empire that ruled it. One like me, but yet not, upon a throne that contained over seventy million planets, colonies and principalities.

Azula's experience of imprisonment, of the torturously slow process of melding her mind and spirit back into a whole, has taught her more patience than she had when she was younger. In any case, the tale's well worth it.

Order is a necessity for ... common people. Regardless of the scale of their civilization. The Empire's fall must have been a great calamity, and yet- as you say, an opportunity as well. The strong and clever thrive in chaos- in great part, because the common people crave to be ruled by them. And out of that chaos comes a new order.

Are you looking to forge a new Empire? I do know a few things about finishing off failing regimes, you know.

[She inclines her head. Azula is right, of course.]

With seventy million stellar spots full of them, oh yes indeed. And it fell, but slowly. Years later, wars still rage. The Empire fell because of a far more ancient war between...well, let's call them mages, for now, for ease of translation.

I am...the Third Way. The powers of summoned anger, and passion - but not blinkered by the past. And in time, yes. Once the stage is properly set. Until then, let the struggles continue, weakening all.

The powers of summoned anger and passion, you say? Sounds familiar.

Azula breathes in deeply and flickering torches incline towards her. She exhales and they flare up, a brilliant sapphire blue. Azula knows nothing at this juncture, of course, about the Force or its nature, but the manipulation of vital energies at the heart of the elemental bending powers of her world are essentially the same thing. The Force, chi, in the end- it's different manifestations of the same universal energy.

Let the past die, then.

[And that, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is why she is here - and rests her case. It's a different way, a different thing. But the grand upside is that no Jedi alive has any experience of it. And neophyte Jedi do so poorly at blocking flamethrowers as it is...]

Impressive. So much power, and so controlled. A rare combination.

[Her smile is wide, and eager.]

I would let you burn worlds, were you willing.

Zuzu could keep his Fire Nation. It gave him so much comfort, like a soft blanket for a mewling infant. Azula had bigger fish to fry.

Oh, I absolutely am.

[She stood, languidly, with a sigh of satisfaction.]

I will teach you so much. And you will be an Empress the likes of which the galaxy has never seen. Reigning in fire and blood.

[She thinks she has a grip on her, now. And goes for the gusto. Because with one like Azula...she won't need Marka Ragnos, will she? Let him molder; she will not need his guidance, just his scepter to fulfill her goals.]

Serve me well, learn from me, and I will raise you on high. To a partnership unlike anything either of our universes has ever seen.

Azula doesn't bow lightly. But this offer? Too tempting to pass up for the sake of a small iota of pride. Objectively, she knows she has much to learn. And she will learn it. And then- well, she would see where opportunity lay.

I will do so. A faint smirk is unable to stop from spreading across her face. I think you'll find me a very quick learner.

[Her own smile is languid, almost lazy. Oh, she's certain of that.]

Then come with me, if you wish to learn the first secret. The gateway between worlds.

[Azula notices that. But the fact is that the possibility outweighs everything else. The Dark Jedi came at exactly the right time with an open door that was just too tempting to resist.

As Tavion starts to leave, Azula will follow. Goodbye, Zuzu. Goodbye, Mother. She supposed she'd probably miss Ty Lee, despite her one-time betrayal. She was a faithful enough friend in the asylum. But surely there was an appealing companion, should she desire one, in a society that spanned an entire galaxy.

Her future is there, now.]

[And so she led her downwards. Past guards who were rather well incapacitated, though she'd not killed any of them. They'd proven too interesting to do that. But layer by later she took her down into the basement, and then lower still - through an archway seemingly cut with ease from the rock - not the mark of an earth bender, certainly.]

And beyond that was another, secret stair - leading down to a circular sort of pool - though the water flashed more silver than blue.]

Behold, a secret unknown for centuries. The Mirror of Worlds.

[Azula watches carefully as they go down, trying to get a sense of her new teacher's abilities from what she'd seemingly done. Whatever they were, precisely, they were impressive enough. She certainly noticed the precision cutting on the rock.

And then, down to the pool. The so-called Mirror of Worlds.]

A gateway, I presume. Does one simply step into it or is there more involved?

[She smiled, and nodded.]

By and large. Just a little bit of ritual, first.

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Azula would make a terrifying Sith Lord. She already pretty much does Force Lightning.

She WOULD. And Tavion is already considering setting her loose on a galaxy to see what happens. :P

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We can keep this going here, move it to a journal, your call? :)

This might be a good point to move it to a journal?

Yep, dropped you a message. Her place or yours, really. :P