Below the offices and living quarters of the Headmaster and his Praetor lies the Hall of Secrets—a room dedicated to the members of the Dark Council, and practically unknown by the rest of the Brotherhood. The spacious room is highly secured, with a curving stone ceiling and thick, stone walls. Any noise from the rest of the Academy is completely muted, the silence of this place like a tomb. You were summoned here, the note still clenched in your hand, but so far you haven't seen a soul.

There are a nine cubicles—one for each Councilor—made from transparent crystal, which divides the room evenly into sections. Glancing into one, you see that it contains a small console. You walk towards it and tap in a simple command. Immediately the crystal walls grow opaque, obscuring the interior from view and sealing you within. It seems obvious that this is a secure study for the Council, where its members come to access artifacts, holocrons, or other data, without the prying eyes of the Academy watching.

You reverse the command and step back into the Hall. Glancing around, you search for the person who summoned you. Most of the cubicles are currently transparent, but the furthest one is dark—currently in use. You step towards it just as the walls flicker back to transparency revealing a single figure with weapon in hand…

Samael cocked his head to the right, staring at the figure in the crystal cubicle. The Nautolan smiled as he saw the Umbaran, the signs of withdrawal plaguing the Consul and causing the Krath to giggle to himself. The large black eyes looked glazed over, a finger rising to rub his nose, and the Nautolan seemed to prop himself up against the door. The Archpriest was no expert in the matter, but it seemed like Raiju hadn’t had a fix in days.

“You called me?” asked Samael, crumpling up the note and throwing it to the floor.

“You have more access to dark magics and forbidden knowledge than most of the people in Tarentum. You also have shown no outward signs of ill will towards myself or my master. Despite what my gut tells me, I feel like I can trust you.” said Raiju.

“You? Trust me?” asked Samael, gesturing with his finger between the two of them.

Honestly? No. In your cache of secrets, do you have things that keep the mind occupied? Distract it from it’s darker cravings?” asked Raiju.

The Krath couldn’t help but laugh at that, knowing his new Consul had a history of addictions. The Umbaran studied the Nautolan for a little while, clacking his teeth as he did so. His fingers rubbed his chin until a thought came across his mind, the darkness of it causing him to laugh again. He approached the Sith, who seemed to flinch at the scary faced Archpriest’s touch.

“You can do what I do.” said Samael, “Kill someone.”

Whether he was tired or the withdrawal had made his mind slightly off, Raiju burst out laughing. Samael grabbed some of the hairs in his beard as he smiled at his Consul then shook his head at him.

“I mean it. The release it gives you is better than any narcotic.” noted Samael.

“I won’t just go out and hurt one of the citizens within the Yridian system.” said Raiju, his voice stern.

“Not hurt. Kill.” said Samael.

Raiju seemed to grow irritated at the comment, his black eyes glaring at the Umbaran. The Krath looked around, seeing no darkness or shadows to enter and started to frown. If his Consul wouldn’t kill someone out of free will, Samael would volunteer as a potential victim but he wanted to have fun first. The Archpriest focused on the Sith and brought the memory of the rape of his master to the forefront of his mind. The Krath activated his saber as he watched the Nautolan grow enraged.

“Care to stop seeing that?” said Samael, his skin forming a grin, “Kill me then.”