The shuttle rocked and vibrated as it attempted to sail through the strong winds of Ziost. This did not bother Draco, he was used to it by now. The crystals that lined the valley cast a blue light over everything that approached the cliffs. The blue light cast by the crystals reflected over the permanently frozen rivers. Ziost was a terrible world, but in a way, oddly beautiful. He could see his palace in the distance, its golden lights in sharp contrast with the subtle blue glow of the crystals.

The shuttle touched down on the landing pad. As the boarding ramp descended, the freezing cold of the planet flooded the insides of the shuttle. The cold bit into Draco's flesh as he traversed the bridge connecting the landing pad to the main palace. Two of Hlormalen's red-clad Sith warriors opened the doors for him. He eased his way into the inviting warmth inside. The lights hanging from the high cathedral ceiling gave everything a golden glow. The outer walls of the palace were worn and grey, yet the inner walls were made of polished black marble that contrasted sharply with the red tapesries, carpets and, of course, the red robes of Hlormalen's followers.

He stepped into the elevator. The Draco's palace was fifteen floors high, with the highest floor being Draco's chambers, and had at least thirty floors below ground, including the basement, hidden droid factories and mining tunnels. Draco suspected there were even more abandoned floors under that. The elevators inside the palace did not access Draco's chambers (for privacy reasons) or the concealed droid factories (for security reasons). The elevator grinded to a halt on the fourteenth floor. The had a colder, more official look to them. Being the second-highest floor in the main tower, it was completely surrounded by windows and relied mostly on natural light during the day. Most of the walls on the fourteenth level were little more than frosted glass, which allowed light to shine through while keeping the rooms private.

Hlormalen was sitting in his usual spot in the main council chamber. The chamber was empty apart from him and Draco. Draco sat opposite him.
"Before, on the comlink, you said something about finding 'real' sith." Draco said.
"Yes, and I also said that it was not my place to tell you where they were."
"But how am I supposed to find them if I don't know where o start looking? You're my advisor. Advise me!" Draco said impatiently. Hlormalen sighed.
"Surely there are other ways of finding them? All those sith in one place? Surely it would leave a rather large imprint in the force, would it not?"
"Are you saying that I could just reach out and sense them?"
"I'm not saying that. Sensing something that far away would require incredible concentration and skill, as well as some external stimuli."
"Stimuli like a focal point for the dark side?"
"I've already said to much." Draco knew that he wouldn't get any more hints from Hlormalen. Not that it mattered. He already had enough info anyway.

Draco sat in the centre of the lookout point. The lookout point was the highest part of the palace. It was little more than a roofless platform on top of his chambers. It was freezing cold, but it had the best view in the enire palace. Draco had no idea how to use the force to find people, but he figured that it wouldn't be that hard. He completely stilled his thoughts. His breathing slowed. He emptied his mind, and let the images he usually fought back come. After hours of sitting on that platform, something finally eased into place. He gradually came to the realisation that he could tell what was happening inside the palace. It was as if the walls had turned transparent, and he could see the red-clad figures scurrying around below him. He tried to reach out further, but the further he reached out, the less clear the mental image was. He decided the focus his interest on the palace. Letting the force flow through him, he felt an inexorable pull downwards. Slowly, he stood up and broke his trance. But he could still feel the pull downwards. It was as if invisible hands were trying to force him down. He descended the staircase into his chambers and headed through his chambers into the conference rooms.

"You were up there for hours." Hlormalen still hadn't moved from his seat.
"I think I'm on to something."
"Really?" There was a hint of surprise in Hlormalen's usually steady voice. He obviously hadn't expected Draco to find any leads so quickly. He got up and started following Draco. Draco half-walked half-ran into the elevator. He quickly pressed the button for the lowest possible floor. Hlormalen said nothing, evidently preferring not to distract Draco. As they descended, Draco could feel the pull getting stronger.

The doors sprung open, revealing the long-abandoned lower mines. Most of the mining equipment that was still down there was rusted beyond recognition. Light-emitting blue crystals grew from the walls and ceiling, casting everything in an eerie blue glow. Draco walked blindly in the direction the force was pulling him, it seemed to be guiding him through the maze of tunnels and shafts. He travelled down several more levels. He was certain that the mines were never this deep. After walking down a shaft that must have been thirty metres deep, the pull suddenly became incomprehensively strong. It was guiding him through a seemingly endless tunnel, lined with crystals. Unlike the crystals higher up, these stones were blood red, and the light the they cast was so intense that it hurt the eyes.

After the end of the very long tunnel, Draco could tell exactly where the pull was taking him. It was pulling him towards a dead end, or so it appeared. There was some kind of hexagonal metallic block in the wall, some king of seal. Draco pressed his ear up against the dead end, knocking his fist lightly against the stone. It definitely wasn't solid. Hlormalen seemed fascinated by the seal.
"The ancient sith made this." he said, obviously excited by the discovery. "It must have been made to keep enemies of the sith out. Or to keep something in." Hlormalen stood a few feet away from the seal. Holding one hand behind his back, his other hand shot forward, casting a powerful force push. A few loose pieces of rock fell from the stone wall, but other than that, nothing happened.

Draco rested his hand against the seal. Without explaination, the wall fell to pieces, and the seal burst into a cloud of dust. Well, maybe burst isn't the right word. Maybe exploded would be a better word. Draco recoiled.
"Did I do that!?"
"Maybe, but it isn't likely. It is more likely that whatever's in there," he gestured towards the gaping hole, which was still obscured by the dust and debris. "Opened did it through you. Either way, you must be very powerful to be able to summon so much power." The dust slowly cleared, exposing the room behind it. It was obviously man-made, and obviously thousands of years old. The room was square, with a circular pit taking up most of the room. The pit was about three feet deep, and was lined with sith sarcophaguses. In the centre of the pit the was a platform. On the centre of this platform there was a perfectly cut red stone. The stone seemed to be what the force pull was coming from.

The part of the room that Draco found most interesting were the three statues. The largest statue was one directly across the room from him, and depicted a massive horned humanoid wearing an equally massive helmet.
"Marka Ragnos. The greatest sith lord in history." Hlormalen said coolly, obviously noticing Draco's interest. He gestured to the statues on Draco's right and left, one depicting another horned humanoid, and another depicing a human sith lord wearing ancient clothing. "The alien is Ludo Kressh. The human is Naga Sadow. They were two of Marka Ragnos' apprentices. After Marka Ragnos' death, Naga Sadow took over. Naga Sadow tried to destroy the republic and the jedi. Ludo Kressh believed that Naga Sadow was acting too rashly, and challenged Sadow for control. Sadow won. Unfortunately, it seemed that Ludo Kressh was right, and the ancient Sith empire was destroyed in the war that Sadow created."
"Are they buried here?"
"No. Their tombs are on Korriban. I have no idea who was buried here."

Hlormalen noticed the blood-red gem.
"Hmm. That looks like a lightsaber crystal. A very, very rare one, if I'm right. Very poweful, too. If you put it in your lightsaber, then your lightsaber will act like a portable dark side focus point."
"Was the crystal what was pulling me down here?"
"That is unlikely. It may be powerful, but no crystal is so powerful that it can be sensed from so far away. That would put the lightsaber's owner in danger."
"What was pulling me down here then?"
"My guess would be the residual dark side aura stored in these sarcophaguses. There might be something else in here, however. I suggest you meditate here."
"Why don't you?"
"Because I'm not the one trying to find the Sith."

Hlormalen left the room. Draco walked up to the pedestal. Now that he was closer, he could properly feel the pull of force energy towards the pedestal. It was not pulling towrads the crystal, but rather towards the pedestal itself. He could feel the dark side energy inside the crystal, pulsating slowly. He removed it from the pedestal. No sooner had the crystal left its slot than a huge rumbling sound occured. The top of the pedestal descended down into the foundations. Where there was one a pedestal there was now a gaping well. Seconds later, he heard the rumbling begin again, and saw the pedestal making its way back up.

Except now there was someone standing on it. He was clad head to toe in red, like Hlormalen's warriors, except instead of robes, he was wearing armor. Not new armor, either. Ancient platemail. The helmet he was wearing looked like that of the Imperial guard. After twenty seconds, the pedestal was back where it was. The armored figure loomed ahead of him. He looked through the slit in the helmet. There was nothing in there. Idiot he thought. It was just an empty suit of armor. He took the helmet. It was far lighter than he thought. Draco recognised the material. Cortosis. Not mixed with other metals for greater flexibility. Just pure cortosis. A lightsaber wielder wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in Mustafar against someone wearing this armor. Draco sensed that the pull was coming from this armor.

Draco sat on the pedestal, wearing the armor, the lightsaber crystal in his hands. Their energy coursed through him. Achieving meditation would be far easier like this. Within seconds, his breathing was slow, his mind blank. The stone walls around him slowly faded away, now he felt like he could see everything, it was as if someone had put a perfect map of the galaxy in front of him. He saw more than the galaxy itself, though. He saw the force flowing through it, changing colour where the light and dark sides of the force were present. He clearly saw a gaping shadow in the Expansion region; a planet or system the was pulling in the dark side of the force, much like the way that Ziost did. Draco decided that this must be where the sith were. He would have to get a better idea of where the planet was and what it looked like. He approached the planet. It was lush and green, covered in jungle, much like Yavin 4. He got closer. He could now clearly see what was happening on the surface of the planet. He saw the temple that had been haunting his dreams, and the dark robed figures within it. Committing the planet's location to memory, he opened his eyes and snapped out of his trance. He had found the true Sith.