Kar Dog

[Kayura]

Knowing that being the Dark Ladylord of the Sith carried with it the risk that some would take her life for the sake of taking her power. Others, fearing her special and rare craft for what it was, would try the same to ensure it wasn’t their flesh she commanded. Either way, her watch had to be an unblinking one. Her eyes, yellowed for the sheer power she channeled and for the sheer venom of the Dark Side flowing through her veins, peered through the blackness of her office. Her mind raced like the best navcomputer money could buy as her mind raged on the debate of personally loyal bodyguards or on the use of a trained animal to watch her back. Loyalty was the key and the decider.

Her eyes closed and in the light of the computer screen all that was visible was the face of the Dark Ladylord in idol-like meditation. A word came to her mind and the image that came with it was of a great beast that was as black as the office as it was now. From the depths of her imagination, a larger pair of eyes as yellow as her own flickered from the darkness. A great canine face snarled and bared long, curved and serrated fangs. Now picturing herself on the open deserts of Korriban, she saw the moon low in the sky and in full. The figure of a horse-sized animal flashed in canine form in the silver light. Hackles of massive black quills glittered like scales in the starlight. A tail coated in the same quills whipped through the air as it wagged.

Suddenly, she had an image of her next bodyguard. Her mind instead turned to finding an animal that could easily be twisted into such a creature. She had done an inventory of the previous Dark Lord’s effects and found alchemy equipment. It was going to come in handy soon. First a quick trip to Sriluur was in order. She now had a few ships that were hers. So far it seemed that only one had a hold suitable for the animal she was going to have to capture and alter.

The hours spent in hyperspace gave her time to think. A creature of the sort she’d need was going to need to be Force-sensitive. She was certainly Force-sensitive and knew it. To achieve what she wanted in her new bodyguard, she was going to need to shed some of her own blood. Her mind was already at work on the alchemical process and she was reading over a tome on alchemy to figure out which one she’d need. Her mind absorbed it all as the ship eased out of hyperspace and found a landing spot on the southern half of the planet of Sriluur.

A smile was on her face as soon as she heard a deep howl echo over the vast wastelands. Sriluur was a desolate world where only the absolute strongest of the strong survived. She took a deep breath and mimicked the howl of the creature she had heard. Her voice, operatic in power, echoed neatly over the wastes and was answered. Repeating it, she led one of them closer and closer until at last, she was confronted with the sight of a Dark Wolf. The leathery hide and powerful yellow eyes said it all. She had her quarry and it was seeing her as its next meal.

She'd need to gain it's loyalty and that meant first dominating it. The creature snarled only after it licked it's leathery, whisker-studded chops. A pair of ears were perked for any sign of fear. That nose was sniffing her out on the light breeze. She didn't move. Her powerful yellow eyes stared deep into the eyes of that thing that could well be her death.

Without a warning, it leapt for her. She threw it back with the Force and follwed it with a brief flash of blue-white arcs of Force lightning. The beast she had locked in battle with was large, and destined to become far larger. The fur on it was already black, it was a start in the right direction. She forced a mental connection to the animal and becan to exert her own will over the creature. She was neither too weak nor too brutal. This required balance as she wanted the creature's loyalty, no matter how much she was going to change it later.

In the space of a few minutes, she had the beast aboard quietly. As if already tamed, the creature quetly stepped into a back compartment before she shut it. Immedialtely it began to howl and scratch at the door.

The ride back to Korriban was nowhere near as quiet as the ride out from it. Her attentions split between running the ship and minding the beast not far away, she multitasked. By the time she landed, the creature was already tamed to a degree and growing a loyalty to her as she was the creature's new pack.

[Kayura]

The beast sat like a tamed pet as she drew out a ring of runes on the floor in chalk. White runes spelled out a boundary. For the moment there was only one rune missing. It wouldn't be written in its place until it was time. Whispers and flowing prayer-like song in the ancient language echoed in the room.

There was something that caught the eyes of that beast as she balled out a fist and cut her own hand with the blades. The smell of her blood brought out the wild and feral fire in the beast's eyes. Blood often meant food. In this case, her blood was needed to give this creature all the things she'd need: Force-sentitivity and a stronger bond.

Darth Kaa'li roared in pain as the blood began to drip from the cut hand that had now been balled into a fist to make it bleed. Standing in that incomplete alchemical circle, she let the blood fall to the cold stone floor. Red drop after red drop fell to the floor and slowly formed a pool of blood in the dead center.

Pain translated instantly to primal anger. She was now hissing out the verses of another needed spell as she finished leaving her blood on the floor. Her eyes reached over to her new Dark Wolf who now walked almost timidly to the pool of blood. She stepped out of the incomplete ring and finished the spell written out on the floor. A few more drops of blood along the circle were needed to make it a suitable barrier for the animal that was to rise from it.

Before the animal could lap up the blood left on the floor as a sacrifice, it was levitated just above the floor. Within seconds, alchemical equipment was started up and there was a greenish light that fell on both spilled blood and beast. Her voice called out the verses of another spell as the runes now glowed a hot white on the floor.

Rippling from the sheer miasma of Dark Side energy, the figure of the Dark Wolf grew to the size of a race horse. The black fur thickened and quills burst through the leathery skin over yelps of immense pain. The poisonous claws remained, but the fangs grew to be eight-inch serrated daggers. The poisonous spike at the end of the tail became innumerable poisonous quills. There was a mane of them about the neck and hackles. The yelps and shrieks of pain persisted as there was a new and unnatural piecing quality to the yellow eyes.

Meeting that gaze, Kaa'li knew right away: the alchemy was successful. She knew that unnatural piercing quality to be the mark of having the Force. That beast that had stalked the depths of her imagination was standing before her now and more loyal than any apprentice would ever be. That creature was linked to her now and would be loyal to no other as the same midichlorians that gave her power now flowed in the veins of that beast.

The spell and alchemy complete, the hot white runes dissipated from the floor as a white mist and finally to nothingness. The creature fell back to the floor quivering in pain as the transformation was complete, giving the creature the look of a massive black wolf with quills that gleamed like scales. The creature now whimpered like a wounded puppy.

No transormation was ever painless. Kaa'li understood it all too well. She had been transformed and with it came the pain. She now had something that was as close to a daughter as she would ever have. Pain and fury spent, she shifted to an emotion rarely felt among her kind: sympathy. Through the link she could feel the seering pain of thousands and thousands of quills and hairs shooting out of the thick skin like needles. She reached over to her new guard and mount and tried to comfort her. "Shh, It's over now. Take it easy."

A tail weakly thumped against the floor as the beast realized that Kaa'li was her mistress. The beast was loyal to her, and that was a blade that cut both ways. She needed to think of a name for her familiar. Many raced through her mind, yet none seemed fitting. Much to her surprise, the great beast rose to her feet and shook off the last of her pain. "It's settled then, I'm calling you Nas'ra from now on." It was fitting as the great beast was hardy, and determined not to show weakness, the mark of the victorious. The Sith word for victory was a powerful name for a powerful beast. It would be a matter of time before that clever beast would realize it.

First the beast would need rest, after that, she'd need to eat. Her office was always dark and quiet and would be a good place for it to rest. She had tamed a Dark Wolf and turned it into a dog. It was a matter of time before she could give the begining of a breed a new name.

[Kayura]

Silent, save the soft clatter of fingers on a keyboard, the office was a bastion of darkness. Another sound now echoed in the darkness. It was the sound of deep snoring, something never heard in the office. Her yellow eyes looked on as the great black beast lay on her side with feet twitching. There was something about it that made the office less sterile and more like a home. Her eyes scoured and there was a certain parchment that would need to go on a wall. For now there was a printer going, spitting out large runes that spelled out a simple humorous slogan: DAMN RIGHT I DON'T LOOK BUSY...I DID IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!

The snoring continued to echo in her office as she looked to other aspects of getting settled in. She looked down to the horse-sized animal laying at the side of her desk...she realized that she'd at the very least need a carpet for her familiar to sleep on. That would come in time.

In the darkness there was the flash of white teeth and pink tongue as a great canine yawn echoed off the walls. Nas'ra licked her chops agan and like a tame dog, pawed at her chair. Kaa'li sensed hunger in her familiar and knew it was time to go hunting.

The open desert seemed a fitting place to go to forget the hassles of being the leader. The open desert contained sand wind, and the whispers of the many dead. There was some wildlife on Korriban, sparce, but there was life. Such was the prey for her mount.

The beast ran with staggering speed, even as she rode on the back of her familiar. She sensed the beast only now becomming aware of a new power and it put a dark smile on her face. The link was growing. As Nas'ra was sucessful in her hunt, that link only grew stronger. She could feel the creature quickly becoming satisfied as those serrated teeth rendered flesh to bone.

Licking the blood from her muzzle, Nas'ra went back to her new home. Now feeling her oats, as it were, Nas'ra broke into a full gallop to fully test the new speed. Kaa'li could sense emmense curiosity and satisfaction. Clever as any hunter should be, the beast was testing out her new abilities one at a time. First it had been the use of sheer will to beguile and kill prey, then to test speeds never before attempted. Such curiosity reminded Kaa'li of her much younger years. Again, a smile formed on her face as she rode into the temple.

Not waiting for the gates to open, the great beast leapt over the walls with the calculated grace of a true predator. Like a victorious Amazon, Kaa'li returned with her mount. The link was an unbreakable one by now. Others that sensed it knew that her role as Dark Ladylord was far from mere windfall and appearance. It began to breed a new question among the ranks: if she could tame and fom such a beast, how would she assert her power next?

[Kayura]

She sat thinking. She was at a loss at the moment of where to move the troops next. It would likely come in time, but for the moment, she needed a distraction, and Nas'ra was just that distraction.

Yellowed eyes narrowing in thought, she realized she didn't have any sort of toys for her guard, mount and pet. It seemed that the keen and equally yellow eyes of her companion were fixed on her and the head tilted, as if it were scanning her thoughts. It was almost as if she had said the word "play" and yet it had not actually escaped her lips.

In any case, her companion was now feeling better than ever and it was time to simply relax for a moment while strategies mulled over in the back of her mind. It was time to start training her puppy...if one could call a beast the size of a horse a puppy. Her voice, though at a whisper, still echoed with clarity in her office. Her voice was powerful, as she said "Nas'ra, khadim-sheh."

Without hesitation, the great black wolf-dog sat.

A broad smile formed on her face. In the ancient language, her voice nearly purred, "Who's the good puppy!"

The beast strode up with tail wagging and head pressing against her knees where she sat. She scratched the beast behind an ear and immediately, they were bonding further. The tail wagged even faster, threatening to knock over the computer on her desk. Before it did, the beast dropped to the floor and rolled over onto its back in canine submission.

One of the greatest ironies of the breed she had started with this creature, was that the fur on the belly was remarkably soft. This came in great contrast to the coarse fur about the mane of quills and the back. She had the pleasure of reaching down and scratching along that soft black belly. She reached a certain spot and a great black foot tapped at the floor while a great pink tongue lolled from an open and smiling maw. A second thumping echoed the rapping of a dinner plate-sized paw, it was the rapping of a long and quill-studded tail.

Nas'ra was the sight of canine bliss, if in rather large proportions. For the moment, it was a realease from the pressures of being at the top of the Sith Order and plotting a war to take back the galaxy.

[Kayura]

Hours later, she was still mulling over strategies in her head while listening to the many voices of the dead. Her yellowed eyes were focused on the computer screen watching for any hint that the Jedi, the so-proclaimed defenders of the Republic, had caught onto the forked attacks that she had running in the galaxy. Outposts at first, yes one or two had either been pressed back into service, or they had been taken. In either case, there was the issue with the viruses she had set loose on the Holonet.

Her eyes wer flipping through account statements that she had hacked since the passowords to those acounts had died with the last Dark Lord. A sinister smile formed on her face...she had the luxury of being able to pry it from his ghost. So far, there was no indication of maneuvers from the opposition.

She now turned to the fact that she was the leader and where she thought the order should go. There had been others before her, like Exar Kun...She sighed as she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes in thought.

Things required balance, and balance had to be reached by tempering fear with loyalty. She looked over at her companion once again sitting and waiting. There was a pleading look to the creature's eyes and a weak wag of the tail. All the while she sat and pondered the nature of her rule there was a tug at the edge of her consciousness...and finally a tug at the hood of her cloak.

"Nas'ra! What are you doing?!"

Before she finished that sentence, the dog had lost patience and pulled her rolling office chair to he sliding doors. Already house-broken apparently, the dog was giving her more than a clue.

She sighed, "Okay, fine, you win...You know what to do." Perhaps walking about and taking in the fresh desert air would help her think it over along with the systematic taking of the galaxy. Perhaps she'd find out a little more how her rise would be recieved by the other Sith. She already knew it wasn't going to be a cheery occaion to say the least.